save your breath
by onelildustbunni
Summary: New X-men: about the characters Hellion and X-23. What if M-Day never happened? What if Laura Kinney still came to the school? What if she met Julian Keller--and they hated each other? Here we go, a new take on Helix in the styles of my Snff stories.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: **save your breath

**Characters: **Hellion, X-23, and the New Mutants + Hellions squads

**Universe: **616 pre-M-Day

**Summary:** What if M-Day had never happened in 616? What if Laura Kinney still came to the school, met Julian Keller--and they absolutely _hated_ each other?  
A rivalry evolves between the two...somewhat like my _Snff_ stories, but a different take.

**A/N: **Picks up from X-23: Target X, Laura arrives at school (for the first time). Ignores all Chris Claremont bullshit.  
_(please note: this is not my Snff II story replacement, that's coming~ this is a whole new bucket of worms...)_

_

* * *

_**-1-**

**

* * *

  
**

"Huh?"

"What do you call the bird's foot claw?"

The little boy paused, breaking eye contact with the girl sitting alone. "Wait, I know this…it's, um…oh, it's a talon."

They were on a train. Laura pulled a folder out of her sole duffle bag and examined the contents. Several pages of a letter.

_Please forgive me. Even as I write the words, they ring so hollow. My mistakes….no, my choices…they cannot be undone…much less forgiven. All I can do  
now is tell you what happened. _

Laura looked away quickly as her eyes filled up with tears. What kind of tears they were, she wasn't sure. Sad tears? Tears of grief? Or angry tears?

She heard voices—the ticket-marker was coming—and she wiped her eyes on her sleeve and continued to read, her face emotionless. It was better  
not to display emotions, attachment, in public. It only made them easier for adversaries to pick out. Actually, it was much safer to let no one in.

Laura finished reading the letter, then folded it up and sat in thought. What would she find at this 'school'? Logan had told her there would be other  
children there—other children, her age. Laura wasn't sure how she felt about this either. To begin with, she didn't feel like a _child._

When the train pulled into Westchester, Laura bolted for the door, intent on running to the next terminal—headed back the way she'd come. She didn't  
want to be here. It was a bad idea.

"Kid! Over here!"

Laura froze; there was Logan, with a friendly grin on his weathered face. In his hands were two motorcycle helmets.

"Here." One helmet came flying at her and she dropped her duffle bag, catching it instinctively (even though she had been about to bolt).

"…" She struggled to put her doubts into words.

"Don't worry 'bout the bag…let the men do the carrying for you, sweetheart," Logan recommended, moving over and hefting her duffle bag. "Come  
on…parking's fucking expensive here, so I took the handicapped spot…and I can't say for how long the cops will believe I'm lugging a wheelchair on my bike…"

**…**

"So, what d'you think?" Logan yelled over the wind as they turned into the driveway of the school. A large stone sign read _Xavier's Institute for Gifted Individuals, _  
in large gold-plated letters.

Laura wasn't sure what she was supposed to say. "You do not need to shout, I have enhanced auditory senses," she mumbled instead.

"Keep forgetting."

The bike came to a halt, sending gravel skittering across the courtyard, and Logan put his foot down and turned off the engine. "Off you get."

Obeying, Laura slid off the bike. A moment later, he joined her; she followed him up to the door, acutely aware of a few pairs of eyes that had fixed themselves  
on her. Some children playing Frisbee, a girl in the air. All pausing to examine the newcomer. Laura felt very uncomfortable—and miserable.

"I'm glad you came, Laura. I…I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you before," Logan said. Inside, in the empty hallway. "I didn't even know they could make…stuff  
like you. Didn't know to check."

Silence. Laura stopped, unsure if he was insulting her. She didn't think so, but in her experience, any reference to herself being a clone was an insult.

"Anyways…now that you're here…at least I can help you now. Sound good?"

Laura nodded.

"You're a quiet one." Logan ruffled her hair; she closed her eyes, wrinkling her nose, displeased. "Heh, sorry," he grinned and led her down the hall, towards  
the headmaster's office.

"Do you want me to speak more?" Laura asked in a small voice.

"I was teasing you. Honestly, I couldn't give two shits. It's kind of refreshing to meet a kid who doesn't think they know everything."

Logan knocked on the big wooden door. "Summers, you decent?" he called.

"Hah, hah. Come in, Logan."

Her DNA original opened the door and gestured for her to follow him in. She complied, and her eyes immediately focused on the man in the center of the  
room—Scott Summers. Cyclops. X-man, and headmaster of the Xavier Institute. Alpha level mutant. A strong, commanding voice, yet friendly and personable,  
with a scent like lime shaving cream. She continued to mentally categorize him, approximating his weight, height, limb length, bone density and subsequent  
combat abilities.

"This is Laura Kinney," Logan announced, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"Your clone, I take it?" Summers asked, but his voice wasn't derogatory. He smiled at Laura in a friendly manner; she smiled back slightly, then avoided his  
gaze, shy and not knowing how to act.

"Yeah." Logan rubbed his neck. "She's fourteen."

"Fifteen and a half," Laura corrected in a small voice.

"I see." Summers seemed to find this amusing. "You'll fit right in, Laura. We have several groups of mutants just about your age. We'll get you a roommate…you'll  
be having fun in no time. And learning stuff, too."

Laura's forehead wrinkled, but she said nothing. The only 'fun' she knew of was the fun she'd had with Megan, when they hijacked the teacher's car and went  
for a joyride. Was that what Summers meant? She doubted it.

"I know just who to put you in with," he said, without pausing to think. He and Logan had obviously spoken before, and planned things out. "Would you like to  
go see your new room?"

"…yes," Laura whispered.

"I'll see you later, kid…I have to go teach self-defense in half an hour. You can sit with me at dinner if you like…it's in the staff lounge," Logan called as  
Summers led her out of the office.

**…**

The door opened to the knock, revealing a humanoid-shaped blob of metal with female features, and bright auburn hair. And a bright smile.

"Mr. Summers! Is that my new roommate?" the metal asked in a female voice. It echoed in an odd way, as if the sound was coming out of a synthesizer. _Snff_—she  
smelled like liquid mercury. Something Laura was familiar with, from her many torture sessions.

"Indeed she is," Summers said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "This is Laura Kinney. Laura, this is Cessily Kincaid…otherwise known as Mercury."

Laura wondered how much the girl had been told. She seemed nice.

"Pleased to meet you," she said. "Call me Cess, everyone does."

Laura said nothing, but she managed a small smile in return. She didn't know _what_ to say. Almost anything she said was offensive to people her age; she'd made  
no friends at Megan's school—except for the aforementioned Megan.

She missed Megan.

"Cessily…would I be able to rely on you to give Laura a tour of the school?" Summers asked. Passing her on, too. Laura felt like a relay baton from athletic  
competitions. She wondered briefly what the prize was for those involved.

"Sure, sir," Cessily said. "Come in, Laura!"

Laura followed her in and stood in the middle of the room, uncertain. Cessily pointed at the bed against the wall. "That's your bed. God, I hate to say this…but  
I'm really _glad_ you came. I mean—it sounds awful—but I hated my old roommate. I requested a transfer…she was so…ugh!"

Cessily grinned at her. "You know?"

Laura wasn't sure how to respond, so she smiled back again. Hesitantly.

"I'm sorry! I just met you and I'm dumping all my problems on you, jeez. Get yourself settled in and then we'll go explore the school a bit! And I'll introduce you  
to all my friends. You'll love them."

Laura put her bag down on the cot. "I will put my possessions away later. We can go now."

"No no—make yourself at home!" Cessily said.

"There is only a few hours of daylight remaining," Laura pointed out. The reality was that she did not want to expose her letters—one set of which was covered in  
blood—to a person she had just met. They were on top of her bag, and would be visible the instant she undid the zipper.

"Alright…if you're sure," Cessily said, sounding surprised.

**…**

"And this is the grounds," Cessily said as they exited the mansion again, after a long tour around the school. Laura had been shown the locker rooms, the  
Danger Room area (although not the actual room), the councilor's offices, the cafeteria, the classrooms, the recreation rooms, the swimming pool. Her head  
spun slightly—Xavier's was _large, _that was for sure.

"On nice days, almost everyone goes outside. There's a sports equipment shed…over there…" Cessily pointed. "There's lots of Frisbees, and basketballs  
and stuff inside it. I love softball—hey! You can play on my team!"

Laura paused. There were several children—the ones who had stopped to gawk when she was riding in with Logan—playing Frisbee on the large lawn.

"_There_ they are!" Cessily said, waving to them. "I bet Julian's going to love you!"

Laura paused, studying the group. "Which one is she?" she asked.

"HAHAHA!" Cessily laughed. "Julian's a _guy!_"

"I'm a what?"

Laura looked up; one of the boys was floating in the air, holding a frisbee.

"A dork," Cessily said, but she didn't sound serious.

"Doesn't that mean a whale's dick?" a male voice asked—coming from a humanoid mass of what looked like rocks. Laura blinked, eyes wide. She'd seen  
mutants—but none like _this_ before.

"Who's _she_?" the first boy asked.

"Her name's Laura Kinney," Cessily said.

"What's her power?" the rock boy asked. "Mouse imitation?"

"Heh," the first boy said.

"Don't be mean, guys," Cessily said, looking annoyed. "Everyone's a little quiet on their first day!"

"We're just fooling around," the boy responded, lowering himself. "Saw you ride in with Mr. Logan—you know him or something?"

"Yes," Laura replied.

The boy looked impressed. "What kind of powers you got? You look like a something-kinetic, am I right?"

"Excuse me?" Laura asked politely.

"You know, your mutant thing," Cessily said. "I'm made of metal. Well, duh, captain obvious. Liquid mercury, to be more accurate."

So she'd been right.

"I'm made of rocks," the rock boy said, grinning. "Can I be your sidekick, Cess?"

"Shut up." The girl brushed hair behind her ear.

"I'm telekinetic," the other boy said. Smugly. He looked expectantly at Laura.

She took a deep breath. "I am Wolverine's clone."

Silence.

"That's not a power," the rock boy said, looking puzzled. "Do you mean you have the power to, uh, clone Wolverine?"

"Shut up, Santo, that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard," Cessily said.

"Well, jeez, this from miss 'I'm-made-of-metal'. Don't _I_ feel stupid."

"So, what? You have claws?" the other boy asked, his manner a little less friendly. More condescending, perhaps.

"Yes," Laura said shortly. She didn't often judge people on sight—but she had formed a perception of this boy. She did not like him. He was intrusive, and seemed  
ready to judge her on her abilities alone.

"Well, _that's_ original," he said.

Silence.

"Can I see them?" he asked.

Laura held her elbow, formed a fist with her free hand, and flexed the specialized muscles in her forearm that triggered the release of her claws. Everyone jumped back  
an inch involuntarily, although they tried not to show it.

"Holy!" the rock boy.

"Ohmigod!" Cessily said, covering her mouth.

"Gross." the boy who had asked.

_Snkkt._ The claws withdrew. "Will that suffice?" Laura asked.

"…" the boy raised his eyebrow, sensing the stiffness in her tone. "Hey, I was just being—"

"Annoying," Cessily said, rolling her eyes. "Don't let him get to you, Laura, he can be a bit—"

"Shut up, Cess. I'm making a point. The school's been letting on charity cases lately—people who obviously can't pull their weight." The boy curled his lip at Laura. "I think  
it's only fair she know what's expected of her, don't you?"

Laura blinked, then turned and ran in the opposite direction, towards the woods.

**…**

"Laura! Come down, please!" Cessily called from the bottom of the tree, looking up into the dark canopy. "I'm really sorry! I didn't think he would be mean like that! Hey,  
come down please…you just got off to a bad start!"

"No." Laura stared into the leaves around her. "I do not like it here."

"Don't say that!" The other girl bit her lip. "Give us a chance? I feel really bad…Mr. Summers asked me to make you feel welcome, and, well, I pretty much failed royally…"

Scuffling. The two boys were waiting at the edge of the woods. For her to come down. Laura closed her eyes. "No, thank you. I will stay here."

Cessily hung her head, then her face seemed to harden, and she disappeared.

Talking.

"_Julian, you idiot—what the hell were you thinking?!" _

"_Cess, she's acting like a five-year-old. All I said was—" __**Thunk**_**.** "_OW! What the hell?!" _

"_She's my roommate, you retard! Mr. Summers isn't going to be happy, and I'll bet you anything Mr. Logan isn't either." _

"_Mr. Logan could probably care less about what us kids do." _The rock boy.

"_Shut up, Santo. __**You're**__ going to apologize." _Cessily.

Silence.

"_And explain to her why you would say such mean things and make her feel unwelcome here, you jerk." _

"_To hell with that." __**Thunk.**__ "OW! Quit it, Cess!" _

"_No! _You _quit it! I'm not going to end up with another roommate who hates me because of you, okay? You're quite the lousy friend!" _

"_You didn't _say _she was your roommate, jeez." _

"_I shouldn't have to! That shouldn't be a factor in your relations with people!" _

"_Well, it is, okay? There are a lot of people here that don't _deserve _to be here. They don't bring money to the school…they don't bring talent. They don't even bring class. I  
hear Ms. Frost talk about it all the time." _

"_Julian—you realize how much you've changed since you switched advisors? It's like day and night. You're becoming a really unappealing person!" _

And on, and on they argued. Laura slipped down the trunk of the tree and crept away unnoticed. She found she could breathe easier without these strange children  
boxing her in, forcing their opinions on her. She re-emerged on the school grounds and saw a girl with very long hair, about the same shade of brunette as Megan's.

"Hello," the girl called warmly, surprising Laura, who found she had been expecting some degree of hostility. She had an accent; it sounded Spanish. South American,  
perhaps. Her scent reminded Laura of fresh mountain air, as if she regularly swept all her human scent away.

Laura smiled back hesitantly.

"Are you new here?" the girl asked.

"Yes." Laura glanced at the woods, hearing the voices rise even higher in argument.

The girl looked towards the trees as well, and sighed.

"I see you have met Julian and his friends. They are…how do you say?"

Laura didn't have a word for her, but her features tightened slightly. They listened in silence as the shouting reverted to name-calling, and then as the rock boy  
intervened. Laura was not sure how the other girl could hear—were they _that_ loud? She didn't think so, but then again she wasn't sure what the 'normal' auditory  
range was, having had sharp hearing almost as far back as she could remember due to the artificial activation of her powers.

"My name is Sofia," the girl said suddenly. "What is yours?"

"Laura."

Sofia smiled at her. "It is a pleasure to meet you. Do you have a roommate yet?"

"Yes." Laura felt more was expected. "Cessily is my roommate."

"Oh," Sofia said, looking worried. "I hope she is nice to you…I have never seen Cessily treat anyone badly, but she does not keep pleasant company. Do not let them  
get to you, Laura…it…it is complicated." She frowned. "Julian is not _really_ as bad as he seems, really, just—"

"Unpleasant," Laura said, her nose wrinkling. She was surprised to have come to such a conclusion on his personality—normally she liked to watch people, take her  
time, learn them inside out before she decided _what _they were. But the boy in question almost left a bitter aftertaste. He'd put Laura in a bad mood.

She turned and headed for the mansion without explanation, deciding she would unpack while Cessily was otherwise occupied.

When the girl returned to the room, Laura was already asleep, the covers pulled up tightly over her shoulders so only the top of her head showed. She had skipped  
dinner, not wishing to meet anymore students for the night.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: in response to zackslacker 18: **no...this story is in a category of it's own. This is 616; the characters are written to be New X-men Academy X style, how DeFilippis and Weir wrote them.  
It will be more apparent as the story moves along...but Laura veers more towards Sofia's circle, in this one; and while she doesn't like Julian, she's not upfront about it. Keep readin if you want! ;-)

* * *

**-2-  


* * *

**

"Kid, wake up."

Laura opened her eyes to see Logan towering over her bed, his arms folded.

"Why weren't you at dinner?"

She blinked. "I was not hungry," she murmured. She still had tears in the corners of her eyes, from a dream involving her mother.

Logan considered this. "Get dressed, lunch is in thirty minutes and I'll be damned if I let you turn into a twig."

He left the room. Laura pushed the covers off and reached under the bed for her bag, the thought of disobeying his order not even occurring to her.

Besides, her stomach _was_ growling.

**…  
**

Down in the cafeteria she filled her tray and began to head for the teacher's lounge (to sit with Logan), when Cessily called out to her.

"Laura! Come sit with us, don't be silly!" She waved from a picnic-bench-style table. The two boys from yesterday were there, along with two others  
and a girl in a black niqab—a religious outfit from the middle east.

Laura froze, indecisive.

"Oh, hello!" A familiar voice—Sofia, from a few tables over. "You can come sit here at our table, Laura," she said, smiling. She was also surrounded by friends.

Laura squeaked her boot heel on the floor, distressed. Normally she obeyed whatever suggestion was given—but here were two conflicting, equally  
unattractive options. On one hand—sit with people she did not like. On the other, sit with strangers, and anger the people she did not like. One of  
whom she would have to live with.

"There's no _room_ at our table," the boy—Julian—said, making a face at Laura. Even though there was room for two more at his table—and even though  
Sofia's table had the same number of people.

"JULIAN!" Cessily elbowed him in the ribs and he coughed, but Laura turned around and marched into the teacher's lounge, her cheeks pink with anger.

She _really_ didn't like the boy. So disrespectful, when she could kill him in mere moments. She could kill _all_ of them if she wanted.

"How's your day so far, kid?" Logan asked as she _plunked _her tray down at the place opposite him, her face turned downwards and scowling slightly.

Laura didn't answer, but began stabbing her carrots into the dip viciously.

"Someone's upset."

"I do not wish to discuss it," Laura said shortly, not looking up.

"Is someone giving you trouble?" Logan asked.

Laura was silent.

"I can have a talk with 'em for you. When I'm done, no one will give you a hard time." He watched her, obviously expecting a negative answer.

"I can take care of myself, thank you," Laura said. This wasn't a lie—she _could_ take care of herself. Just not very well.

" Thatta girl," Logan said, sounding pleased.

**…  
**

Laura entered the classroom and stood for a moment at the door, her eyes casting around the area for an empty seat. Mr. Summers had given her a schedule  
after lunch and told her that she would be more than welcome to sit in on a few classes; they would get all of her books on Monday, and Logan had mentioned  
he would take her out to obtain 'other' supplies.

Laura felt bad—obligated. She did not like to draw on the charity of others, especially after comments made lately.

The seating arrangement consisted of small tables, with built-in chairs, two to a desk. This meant that each student had to sit with someone else. And, that the  
only seat free in the room was beside _the_ _boy_. He stared straight ahead, but his bag suddenly floated up and dropped neatly on the unoccupied chair.

Laura continued to examine the seats. The teacher entered the room—a large blue mutant, vaguely reminiscent of a cat, although predominantly humanoid. He  
was wearing a business suit; an odd combination.

"Ah! _You_ must be the Ms. Kinney that Scott was telling me about, yes?"

His voice was deep and guttural—but the pronunciation was surprisingly refined, with an almost English accent.

"Yes," Laura said.

"My name is Dr. Hank McCoy. You make call me Hank. I'm to inform you that you are exempt from the test this Friday, lucky you. _And_ the homework." He gave her a  
friendly smile. "I'll get you next week though."

"Okay," Laura said.

Hank's eyes filtered over the room and stopped at _the boy. _"Mr. Keller, would you mind moving your possessions? We have a fresh mind here, eager to absorb information."

The boy moved the bag.

"Go on," Hank said encouragingly as Laura hesitated, wishing she could leave. Instead she approached the seat. When she sat down, she saw out of the corner  
of her eye as the boy gave her a sour look.

"Just what this class needs…new blood," Hank said, moving to his desk and opening a textbook. Laura could detect the odor of the pages and ink as they wafted  
around the room; the supplies were new. "Yes, indeed…alright, where were we? Ah yes—the Pythagorean theorem states that—"

"Kinney."

At the door, amongst the group of students filtering out of Hank's classroom. Laura turned stiffly; she'd decided to follow the crowd to the cafeteria. She had a  
thirty-minute-lunch-break, and then physics. So far, all the material she'd covered was review, as Laura had received quite advanced training in all things  
mathematics, to the point of doing in-field calculations.

It was the boy, holding his textbook under his arm. One look at his expression told Laura this was not going to be a pleasant interaction.

"I want to make it clear _now_ that you're not to expect help from me just because we're sitting together. Got it?" His eyes twinkled slightly; it was obvious he _  
enjoyed_ doing this. Focusing on someone in a less advantageous position than himself, and highlighting their shortcomings.

Laura's own features tightened. Dr. Rice, at the facility, had been no different.

"I do not _require _your help," she said fiercely, even though a simple _yes_ would suffice. The door was clear and she exited the room quickly, not wishing to dwell  
on the emotions this confrontation was bringing up. She'd kill Dr. Rice, but that would not be appropriate behavior here.

The boy had followed her out into the hall. He leaned to one side, shifting his books in his arm. A threatening posture.

"_You_ need _all_ the help you can get," he said. "You're even weirder than smell-girl. I didn't think that was possible, but apparently it _is. _You stick out like a sore  
thumb. Not only are your powers weak, but you're trying to pull off emo like death-touch there." He nodded his head in the direction of a boy dressed in black  
that was walking down the hall with hunched shoulders. "If I were you, I'd just leave…Morticia."

Laura wasn't sure what the last word was, but she recognized the tone. Like Dr. Rice. Like the boys at Megan's school, jeering at her.

She watched him coolly.

"Laura!" A friendly voice—Sofia. "Do you want to sit with me at lunch today?" She was holding an English book.

"Okay," Laura said, turning away. She felt less concerned with angering her roommate.

Sofia smiled and they headed towards the cafeteria, the other girl talking about something she'd learned in class. Laura did not contribute to the conversation,  
not knowing what would be proper; it didn't really matter though. She found she liked people who didn't rely on _her_ to do the talking. Sofia reminded her slightly  
of her cousin Megan.

The boy watched them go with a very disgruntled expression.

**…  
**

"These are my friends," Sofia said as they reached the table. "That's Laurie…Josh…David…and that is Jay." Everyone gave Laura a small smile of  
greeting; she smiled back hesitantly.

"Are you new here?" Josh asked.

Laura nodded, her eyes fixing on him for a moment. She was fascinated by his golden skin tone; she forced herself not to stare.

"She is going to eat with us," Sofia said. Laura had the feeling that Sofia was responsible for most of these children assembling at one table. Odd, to concern  
oneself so much about the social lives of others.

Laurie stabbed her salad with her fork. "Be careful around me," she said grimly.

Laura eyed her warily, detecting odd traces of pheromones in the girl's scent. That _could_ be dangerous—pheromones were responsible for many extreme  
reactions. The girl could cause riots, even—

"Nonsense. Laurie does not _believe_ in me yet," Sofia said, seeming amused. "The wind listens to me, and if her excellent control were to slip, the pheromones  
would be carried away immediately. She is not dangerous—do not worry."

Laura looked down. They didn't realize that _she_ was the most dangerous one in the room—that she could kill all of them in the time a camera took to expose  
film to light. It had been done.

David _was_ looking at her oddly. "You know a lot about combat, don't you?" he asked, his forehead wrinkling.

Laura nodded.

"And—" his eyes widened, but he stayed silent.

"What?" Josh asked.

"N-nothing." The boy picked up his pizza quickly and started to eat again.

"Damn you! Now I'm dying to know!" Josh put down his hotdog. "I hate it when people do that! You suck."

"David's power is to know everything you know," Sofia said.

Laura's eyes widened too. Did he—but she hadn't _felt—_

"Oh, do not worry. He isn't a telepath. While near you, he is able to know any skills you do. He will forget them as soon as you leave."

David watched her carefully, having just become aware of twenty-six general ways to kill a person without leaving signs of an attack. As well as the forty or so  
methods of torture, protocols for international information gathering, and a complete analysis of all his classmates, telling him what would be the fastest method  
to terminate them—if he _didn't_ care about leaving signs.

Laura avoided his gaze. If he could do what Sofia had said, then he knew everything. Well—almost everything. All the worst parts, without knowing _why_ she had  
that information. No doubt he thought her a monster, an animal.

"HAHAHA! If she's Morticia, that makes you guys the Addam's family!" the boy's voice cut through her thoughts. He had followed them.

Everyone turned their head to glare at him as he approached, but his eyes were focused on Sofia. "Hey, you know, _you_ can always come sit at my table," he  
said, his voice less biting.

Increased heart rate, Laura noted. For both of them.

"Go away, Julian," Sofia said sharply.

"Yeah, go away," Josh said. "You're not wanted here."

Julian sneered. "I wasn't asking you. You ought to stop copying people—it's lame and pathetic, just like your little girlfriend over there." He looked at Laurie, whose  
hair was now covering her face. Just a frown was visible.

"If you have nothing nice to say, then please leave," Sofia said.

Julian gave her an amused glance. "I'm giving them some constructive criticism," he said, grinning. "The way they're going at it, they'll be kicked out of the school.  
No one wants losers like them around." His eyes fell on Laura, who seemed to be his new target. "And—seriously—_her? _I feel sorry for Cess—I mean, she's stuck  
with her till she can get a new roomie—but you guys have a _choice…_"

"Julian, that is enough," Sofia said. "Just go."

"Fine, whatever," he said, waving his hand at them in dismissal as he turned away.

"God, he's the world's biggest jerk," Josh grumbled.

"Mmm. Let's not talk about him, shall we?" Sofia said, picking up her burger.

**…  
**

"We have a couple new kids in the class…so I'm going to introduce myself. I'm your instructor, Logan…and, well, I'm going to teach you how not to get your  
ass kicked. Er, I meant butt. Anyhoo—"

Laura was sitting in Logan's self-defense class, wearing a gi, the white uniform worn by martial artists. She had a white belt around her waist, indicating that  
she was unranked, even though she probably knew more than Logan did himself. Different forms, too. She listened as he spoke, not begrudged at all to be  
here; she enjoyed spending time with her DNA originator—probably more than with anyone else at the school.

The other children were here, sitting in a large circle on the dojo floor, in cross-legged positions. Laura had arrived slightly late (held up by some paperwork  
Scott had asked her to fill), so she had been forced to sit beside some strangers; Sofia waved to her from across the room.

Laura waved back, after a moment of wondering what she should do.

"Today we're going to be practicing the sparring routine I introduced last class. The newcomers can sit it out and just watch; I'll show it to you on the side,  
once I'm sure this lot can do it without killing each other." Logan grinned, and glanced at Laura. "I'm fairly certain you know this one…it's just a simple, basic  
block-punch, repeated five times."

"Hai," she said.

A few of the other students glanced at each other.

"Alright…for partners: you guys are going to start with one person and work your way down through the group, so everyone gets a turn with each other. Start with—"

Laura whirled around, in-stance, having finished with the fourth student. The technique was, indeed, basic, and she'd had no problem adjusting to the level  
of the other students; she moved with a fluid, easy rhythm that seemed to work well for her sparring partners.

Until now. It was the boy—Julian—and he was giving her a mean smirk.

"I don't know what Mr. Logan was talking about…I've been watching you, and you _suck, _Morticia," he murmured as they took stance.

Laura watched him calmly. Taunting; a battle tactic, meant to distract the opponent. She was familiar with it but had never needed to resort to such means.

"What, you have some kind of speech impediment? You've spoken like three words the whole time you've been here, jeez."

First move. Julian blocked in rhythm. "Maybe they messed up when they were _cloning you_ and misplaced your brain."

Second move. Julian blocked again with ease. "Coz you seem really _dumb_ to me, you know? You look at things like you don't understand them. Kind of…animal like."

Laura's eyes widened. _Animal. _

_Stupid beast._ Dr. Rice's words came back to her.

"LAURA!" Logan's voice snapped her out of her reverie. She was kneeling on the floor with her fist to Julian's throat, the points of her claws threatening to break  
through the skin. He had stopped talking, and was staring at her with wide eyes, around one of which a bruise was forming. His heart was going quite fast; not  
only could she hear the pulse rate hammering in her ears, but she could feel his jugular vein under her knuckles.

"Shit—did you see that?" someone murmured in the background. "Like a viper."

"Get off of him," Logan ordered, glaring down at her with his arms folded. "You don't do that here. You _never_ do that here, you understand?"

Laura closed her eyes and stood up. "Yes."

"Good." Logan glanced down at the boy.

"She—she hit me!" Julian said angrily. "What the—that's direct violation of school code! My parents—"

"Ain't here." Logan held his hand out to the boy. "For the record, Keller—it's a 'violation of school code' to call your classmates _animals, _too."

Julian paused, staring at his teacher. Then he got up, ignoring the offered hand.

"Keller." Logan's voice was firm. "We don't tolerate violence at this school, and we don't tolerate bad attitudes, got it? I'm taking you two to Summers for a little talking-to."

"But she—"

"You provoked her. I heard you. Word to the wise, kid—don't try starting shit in a class where your instructor has enhanced hearing."

Laura didn't look up. Why was Logan defending her? She had done wrong—she might have _killed _the boy if her claws had emerged, and he had been too startled to react. To  
defend himself. His throat had felt soft and vulnerable under the skin of her knuckles.

"Yes, sir," Julian said bitterly. He glared at Laura, his eye having swelled slightly.

"Good." Logan grabbed his shoulder and stomped towards the swinging doors, Laura following shortly behind.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **Thanks for the kind reviews! X-D Also, X-force 17 and 18 info is on marvel website. #17 is going to involve Laura being kidnapped, and will also address what-the-hell-is-going-on-with-hellion. #18, no comments...but the cover is X-23 with spikes all over, in a glass tube, with Logan pressing a bloody hand to it. Is...it...extreme makeover: adamantium edition? =O

**

* * *

-3-  


* * *

**

Scott Summers looked up from his paperwork as his door opened to reveal a curious sight. Logan, holding one of the students by the scruff of his neck  
as he pressed an icepack against his face; and behind him, the newest student.

"What have we here?" he asked, although it was fairly obvious. There'd been a fight, and he was willing to bet money that it had been instigated by  
Mr. Keller. Sometimes, Scott wondered if Emma was really doing _good_ for the boy by allowing him to be her teacher's pet.

"Someone finally picked on the wrong person," Logan said, his voice full of sarcasm. "And that someone got his ass handed to him, in front of the whole  
self-defense class. I brought him here coz I thought Frost could do some emergency ego-pumping."

Julian opened his mouth. "That's not—"

"Be quiet." Logan's voice was firm. "I heard him picking on Laura here during sparring—you wouldn't _believe_ some of the shit that came out of his  
mouth. Completely out of line. Guess it took up all his focus, coz he forgot to block and, well, here we are."

Laura raised her eyebrows.

"I didn't—" Julian began.

Logan cleared his throat. "I think I _know_ what I _saw,_ Keller."

"I see," Scott said. Looking from Keller's indignant expression to Laura's slight guilty one, he could piece together what had happened. The boy had antagonized  
her and she'd snapped, not knowing the limits.

Scott was familiar with the girl's history.

"Be more careful when sparring in the future, Laura," he said. "It's your responsibility to make sure your partner doesn't get hurt, even if they don't block in  
time. And, Mr. Keller, I've been meaning to have a little talk with you…" he paused. "Logan, why don't you and Laura return to class."

"Yessir," Logan said, saluting him and steering Laura out of the room with a hand on her shoulder, willing her to be quiet.

**…**

On the porch. After class.

"Kid."

Laura avoided her mentor's gaze. She was ashamed at the lapse in her control—in her judgment. How could she explain that it had been the choice of  
words? A flashback? That for a moment she'd been seeing Dr. Rice?

"Don't _ever_ let me see you do that again, you hear?" Logan growled. "I don't wanna do it, but if you push me, I'll take you out myself."

Laura nodded. "Yes."

"What the hell possessed you to punch him out anyways?"

Laura looked away, and was silent.

Logan dug into his jacket pocket. "Damn kids." He pulled out a cigarette and a lighter, then proceeded to light up and take a long drag. "You're gonna  
fucking kill me, I swear. It won't be old age, it won't be an injury, won't even be the fact that I smoke like a steam engine—it'll be just being around _you_  
people that does me in."

Silence. Laura looked out across the lawn, to the woods.

Logan sighed, blew out a cloud of smoke. "Kid—life ain't been easy on either of us. You're not the only one to ever be called a big dumb beast." He inhaled  
again, deeply. "Matter of fact, _I_ blew my cap a few times over that myself. It's what the scientists used to call me. Don't make it right."

Laura looked at him sharply. So he knew, understood.

"This is a lab thing, ain't it?" he asked, catching her eye.

Laura nodded slightly.

"Remember, no matter what anyone tries to tell you…you're better than all these kids, Laura. You've been through a lot more—and lived to tell the tale." He  
grinned at her. "Don't let anything they say get to you."

"Okay." Laura leaned on the railing of the porch, studying her hands.

"Did you make any friends yet?" Logan asked after a moment.

"No." Laura paused. "Yes."

"Oh? Anyone I know?"

"Sofia Mantega, and her friends. I believe David Alleyne is aware of my capabilities." Laura stared across the field. "He is frightened."

"Want me to talk to him?" Logan said.

Laura considered. "No."

"Thatta girl," Logan said, patting her shoulder.

**…**

"Laura—" Cessily, in their shared room, later that night. "I heard you got into a fight with Julian, during self defense. He said—"

"I do not wish to discuss this," Laura said, folding back her comforter. "Goodnight, Cessily."

"Wait." Cessily sat up in her bed. "Laura…I've got to talk to you about this. It's really hard for me, being in the middle…you don't _know_ him like I do."

"No, I do not."

"He's a great guy, Laura…except for, well, the whole jerk-thing. It's an act, sort of. His friends…he's _nothing_ like that to me, or Sooraya, or Santo. Or Brian. I  
don't know _why_ he differentiates between people like that…" Cessily bit her lip. "Please don't hate him, I guess?"

"I do not hate Julian." This was true; Laura's emotions towards the boy were nowhere near as strong as hate. True hatred, for her, approached the level of  
loathing she felt towards Dr. Rice, and Kimura. What she had once felt—but no longer felt—towards her mentor, Logan. When she had believed him responsible.

"Oh." Cessily looked relieved. "Will you come sit with us at lunch then?"

"He does not want me at the table." Laura turned over in her bed. "I have an early class. Goodnight, Cessily."

"Night, Laura," the other girl said miserably.

**…**

_**BONK!**_

Laura's eyes snapped open and she sat up, blinking in the dark. The room was still, quiet; she could not fathom what had woke her from her sleep.

She lay down again, mentally chastising herself for her jumpiness. Logan had promised her that Xavier's was _safe_. He would not ever allow the facility to get a  
hold of her again. It was one of the selling points that had brought her to the school. Laura closed her eyes slowly, willing herself to relax.

_**BONK!**_

She inhaled sharply as the noise emanated from in front of her face. The wall. No, to be more accurate…whoever was on the other side of the wall. It sounded  
like a piece of furniture was being rammed into it repeatedly.

_**BONK!**_

Laura did not sleep that night.

**…**

At breakfast the next morning, Laura was a little tired. She had not slept well that entire week (uncomfortable in her new surroundings), and now she had  
not slept at all. Even her accelerated healing factor could not compensate for the loss of regenerative time. She blinked sleepily at her egg as Sofia laughed  
and made conversation with her friends.

"Dude, that was awesome!" Josh said to her.

Laura gave him a questioning look.

"What you did yesterday—giving Julian a shiner! You're my hero. You know, _I_ tried to do that once…I wasn't fast enough, him and that damn brain-thing."

Laura was silent. Annoyed. _Everything _here seemed to revolve around Julian, even the people that did not like him. She stabbed her egg viciously and it  
bled yellow juice onto the egg cup.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Wow, thanks for the kind reviews! I'm glad to see this story is catching on...I kinda like it too ;-)

**  


* * *

-4-  


* * *

**

"How are you liking the school so far, Laura?" Mr. Summers asked.

Laura blinked. It had been about a month since she'd arrived, and she wasn't sure what she thought of the establishment yet. It was big—it was grand—there were  
some nice people—but it wasn't _home_. Home was still a white-tiled cell to her, with her mother reading a book out loud.

So she remained silent.

Mr. Summers smiled kindly. "I know it's a lot to take in. If you need anything, feel free to let me know. " He paused. "Now, I called you here for a reason, Laura. I want  
to talk about your adviser."

"My adviser?" Laura parroted.

"Yes. All teachers are available as advisers. Myself, Ms. Frost, Dr. McCoy, Ms. Moonstar, Ms. Mahn Coi, Logan…"

"Logan," Laura said immediately.

Mr. Summers held up a finger. "Laura…I was wondering if you might want someone _else. _Logan is your guardian…no one will ever take that from you. But this is a chance  
for you to build another relationship—I thought, perhaps, you'd like a _female_ adviser."

Laura paused, seeing the wisdom. Logan did not know about female things.

"All right." She eyed Mr. Summers, suddenly realizing she was not being asked—she was being _told. _

"I thought Ms. Frost would be the best choice for you," Mr. Summers said gently.

Laura said nothing, having no particular inclination towards any instructor. She didn't _know_ anyone—the teachers were still trying to remember her name. Ms. Frost taught  
English; Laura sat at the back of her class, near Sofia, and was quiet. Although she wore revealing clothes, Ms. Frost was a good instructor.

"You have no objections, then?" Mr. Summers asked.

"No."

"Excellent," he said, clicking something on his computer screen. "I'll let her know you accepted, then. She expressed an interest in you, Laura."

"She did?" Laura was confused.

"Indeed. I think you will like her, Laura. Sometimes Emma can seem a bit…distant…but she cares, very deeply, for her children. She will never allow harm to come to you  
once you are in her ward. I believe you have many things in common." Mr. Summers smiled at her again.

"Okay," Laura said.

**…**

"Do you think that it is _true?_" Sofia asked, sounding worried.

"They wouldn't split us up," David said. "That's just stupid. It would breed animosity and rivalry amongst the students. Just think of how much _worse_ certain people  
would be if _that_ happened."

The students were discussing something they had seen earlier, sneaking into Mr. Summers' office for one of the other new girls, a Japanese, blue-haired mutant with  
large metal gloves sitting at the end of the table, beside David. She had not been present at the table until a few days prior, having been in the infirmary. Her hair  
smelled strongly of dye. Her name was Noriko Ashida.

"Heh," Josh said.

The girl wrinkled her nose. "Are you guys talking about Keller?" she asked. She had a very animated face, and used a lot of expressions while she spoke.

Sofia sighed.

"We all have the same advisor, anyways," David said. "That's how they must be splitting us up—it's the only way that would make sense. There aren't many similar  
powers at the school."

Laura was silent.

"That would be so _cool_, if there really was gonna be squads," Josh said, sounding excited. "It'd be the first step to becoming real X-men!"

"I don't want to be an X-man," David said. "I just want to keep going to school, and learning stuff. And then pick something I like and advance the field…"

"Do you think we'll get codenames?" Josh asked, not listening to David.

"_You_ just want to be 'Goldenboy'," Nori said.

"I won't deny, it would be accurate," he said with a pleased grin. "Or, hey! Goldfinger…that'd be cool."

"I want to be Hurricane," Sofia said.

The others were silent. Laura munched on her salad, thinking. She wasn't sure if she wanted to participate in this…this 'squad' thing. It could be dangerous, with her  
claws—it would be easy to hurt someone—but it was also a good idea. To be prepared, for anything.

**…**

Laura hesitated in the hallway, with the note in her hand. The corridor opened to a large room filled with sofas and coffee tables, as well as expensive art. There was a table  
with pastries on it in the center of the room—and there were several other students. Cessily (who smiled and waved)—the rock boy—another boy that Laura had never seen  
before—Jay Guthrie—and the boy she disliked—Julian.

She stopped in her tracks. There had to be a mistake. But no—there was Ms. Frost, entering the room through a door at the back, all smiles for her students.

"Hello, darlings, so glad everyone is on time…" she paused, and before Laura could turn around and run, she locked eyes with the girl. "Do join us."

Laura stared. The boy stared back. He couldn't very well tell her she wasn't welcome. And then, before she could protest, she marched into the room and took a seat on the  
end of one of the couches, feeling quite odd.

"Now that we're all together." Ms. Frost took a seat on the other end of Laura's couch. "Let's talk plans. I have wonderful news, about opportunities that are approaching for  
you all." She leaned forwards. "The school is forming training squads; teams of mutants that will someday be the next generation of X-men."

She let her words sink in. The boy—Julian—leaned forwards slightly. "Really?"

"Yes," Ms. Frost said, smiling. "The squads will each be led by an adviser. There will be inter-squad competition, to see which squad improves the most throughout each  
term. All in all, I think it's one of Mr. Summers' better ideas."

"So—are _we_ a squad?" the rock-boy grunted.

"Yes," Ms. Frost said, still smiling. "All of you, here, are going to comprise _my_ squad. Which is quite elite. I am honored to have your tutelage in my hands."

Silence, of the stunned variety. The students looked at each other. Then Julian cleared his throat. "Excuse me—ma'am—if this squad is going to be elite—why are _they_  
here?" He nodded to Jay and Laura.

Ms. Frost arched her eyebrow. "They are here because I have _asked_ them to be here, my dear."

"Oh." Julian folded his arms. "Okay, then."

**…**

Laura hurried out of the room, through the door.

"Kinney—wait up." The boy called, running after her and catching her sleeve. "Look—we rub the wrong way. You need to go and switch councilors _now, _because this won't  
work. A team has to respect each other and work together, and I really see nothing to respect in _you_."

Laura stared at him, unblinking. He'd been surprisingly direct—most people made their best effort to avoid bluntness, even while showing their dislike of her in some shape  
or form. He'd stated it so matter-of-factly.

"No," she said, surprising herself, speaking aloud the words of a voice in her mind. She wasn't even concerned about whom she worked with on the field—they were all  
mutants to her. She would go along with whatever the school wished of her. She was impartial in her judgment, having no previous experiences in social interactions to  
bias her decisions.

Yet here she was, feeling anger towards another human being—one that was _not_ Andrew Rice—and feeling quite strongly that she should do the opposite of what he  
wanted, _because_ he wanted it. What was the logic to it?

"No?" He looked surprised too, folded his arms. "I think you'd better, Kinney, or I'm going to press charges about your little 'accident' in Self-Defense. Yeah, I _know _your  
fist didn't slip, you crazy little freak!"

Laura tilted her head. "Charges?"

"I'll sue you." He looked smug, leaning against the doorway. "My family's big money, and I have enough lawyers to put you behind bars for a good, long time, so if I were  
you I'd hurry up and find another councilor."

Laura's features tightened. "No."

Julian unfolded his arms. "Kinney—I'm dead serious, I swear to god if you don't do it, I'm going to call my parents. They'll be _furious. _You sure you want to sweat in a little  
white cell for years wearing a paper gown?"

Laura stared at him, speechless. Pale. Because that was _exactly _what her life had consisted of for thirteen years.

He took advantage of this. "You don't wanna know what they do in there, Kinney, it's pretty nasty…unless you're _in_ to that sort of stuff." He grinned.

"…" Laura's mouth hung open. Was he threatening her with the facility?

Footsteps. Cessily, smiling. "Are you two finally talking?"

"Hardly." Julian held up a hand and headed back into the room. Cessily's smile faded, and she watched him go with disappointment.

**…**

Laura sat at her desk in the empty bedroom, scribbling away at a lab report. She didn't have a computer yet, so she had to write all her assignments by hand. She found  
this quite acceptable—perhaps inefficient, but hardly something to complain about, as she'd suffered much worse tortures. She could have used a public computer but  
the teacher had spoken so much about plagiarism that Laura had decided not to risk it, and write it by hand.

She was well into her discussion, pausing every few moments to consult either her Chemistry text book or her Lab Manual, when she heard a voice being raised  
outside the window, two stories below.

"_But DAD! You have no idea—" _

Laura leaned over slightly and looked down, out of the window, her pencil still poised on the paper, in the middle of the letter _A_.

It was the boy, on a cell phone in the garden. His back was to her, and his shoulders were hunched; it was obvious from his body language that he was having an  
argument. Aside from his voice, which carried.

Laura wrinkled her nose in irritation. She'd just forgotten what she'd been writing, and it had been a very sensible sentence, too, about the reaction she had observed  
between the chemicals. It had been fairly volatile, and the chemistry teacher had been excited, telling them what they were witnessing was at least second-year chemistry.

She didn't know what second-year meant; she would have to ask Logan, later. After the assignment—the mission—the 'lab report'—was finished. Laura viewed all  
her assignments as _missions, _and so far had not failed to finish one before her stopwatch had run out. She allowed herself twenty-three minutes for each, and so  
far had managed to finish most in twenty.

This one might take longer, she thought, feeling a flutter of panic. The boy had distracted her, and had broken her train of thought; and he wasn't done.

"—_she punched me in the _eye, _dad! It's completely black! She might've damaged something permanently, I dunno, I have to go see the Optometrist tomorrow. How will you  
feel if I have to wear an eye patch for the rest of my life?!" _

Laura stared. She really hadn't hit him _that_ hard. Why would he say something untrue?

_To cause unfavorable attention to you from the instructors, _something whispered in her mind. Explaining. The same voice that had told her to say '_No'_ when  
he'd demanded she pick a new councilor.

"_Come on, at least give me his phone number," _Julian said, sounding exasperated. He paused. As there was a thick, bullet-proof window and about thirty feet separating  
Laura from him, she could not hear the responses of whom she presumed to be his father on the cell phone, only a slight buzzing noise when he spoke.

"_I can't just let her get away with this!" _Julian snapped. "_I can't back down, I already told her I was gonna sue her! I want a restraining order on that psycho! DAD,  
no, wait—don't you even _care? _This is really impor—" _

He stiffened, then snapped the cell phone shut, drew his arm back, and hurled it as far across the property as he could manage. Then he stomped off, in a bad  
mood now, that much was obvious.

_Finding someone else to irritate, _Laura thought. _Good. _

She blinked in surprise; she didn't usually apply opinions to even her thoughts—but now she certainly was.

Was this what Logan was trying to awaken in her?


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **Some answers:

_Re: Nice Emma Frost  
_1. In this universe, M-day has not happened. The mansion is at full security--well, as much as it will ever be. And Emma is grateful for _her_ second chance--she  
wants to 'pay it forward'. Plus, she's all about the nurturing instinct. If her litter is not being threatened, odds are she'd be excited for the chance to take a  
new one under her wing--especially one that is like herself, in some ways (as she stated in _Mercury Falling, _NXM). She might still see X-23 as a threat; however  
in this universe, that is not the case, she's gone with the nurturing instinct.

2. I wanted a change. I always write Emma giving Laura trouble; now I decided to go with a different view, seeing as my reasons are reasonable. Is that a coherent sentence?

_Re: Zander Rice, not Andrew Rice  
_D'oh, you got me. It is Zander. WTF was I thinking lol (I've only read the minis like eight billion times, you think I would know the name of her antagonist by now!!) I'll change  
it later, thanks for the heads up.

Thanks to everyone who's reading this story, hope you continue to enjoy it!!

* * *

**-5-**

* * *

Laura handed in the lab report, from the bag of homework and books she'd found it necessary to have with her at all times. The teacher smiled, mouthed 'thank you';  
Laura returned the smile and headed out into the hallway, feeling a pleasant sense of accomplishment, something she hadn't really experienced before. Now her  
missions were _positive; _no one had to die. There were just papers to write. It was an acceptable alternative.

"You finished it _already_?" Sofia asked, hugging a book to her chest. She sounded surprised. Laurie eyed her as well, behind her curtain of hair.

"Yes," Laura said, following them into the hallway. There were a lot of hallways at Xavier's—so many scents, so many noises to digest. At first, she'd thought she  
couldn't manage it—living in such stimulus—and had asked Logan how he could tolerate it. He'd told her, '_you get used to it, pumpkin_'. She didn't understand how  
pumpkins fit into that sentence but had accepted it without question. She'd asked Sofia later, who suggested that it might be a term of endearment.

Laura wasn't used to that either.

Sofia seemed to think that Laura was from elsewhere, and was simply learning the language, when she asked these questions. She'd asked her before of her nationality,  
and Laura had not been sure how to answer. She'd finally said she would ask Logan, as she shared whatever heritage _he _did, in a way.

Laura now realized he was right—she was, slowly, becoming more used to all the stimulus. She still flinched when she saw a large group of students approaching,  
but much less, now.

"You should cut your hair, Laura," Sofia said.

"Why?" Laura asked.

"You would look good with shorter hair, I think," said Sofia, eyeing her critically.

"It would grow back, almost instantly," Laura said.

"Oh." Sofia stopped. "Perhaps curled, then? Or tied back? You have a lovely face, you should not hide it. Besides, I find leaving my hair lose such a nuisance, don't you?"

"No." Laura paused. "Restraining my hair would irritate my scalp. It is very sensitive."

"Ah," Sofia said. "Then I suppose you should just leave it be." She smiled, and they continued, towards the cafeteria.

Laura stiffened, smelling mercury ahead—and the boy's scent. Moments later, they appeared. Cessily didn't notice them as she was looking at her watch and so she  
brushed past the three quickly, possibly late for a class.

The boy, of course, stopped, his eyes on Sofia.

"And how are _you_ doing?" he asked her, all smiles. He looked more open when he smiled, less hostile and judgmental.

"Well, thank-you," Sofia said, smiling back pleasantly. "Yourself?"

"Not bad. Got an A on my math test again." His voice was full of something—he was bragging. Laura had heard the term, and the definition, but she had never actually  
seen this in action. "You want help, I'm your guy, Sofia. I'm totally leading the class, unlike _some_ people."

He gave a nasty look at Laurie, who was doing poorly in math.

Sofia didn't know what to say; then suddenly Laura found herself speaking. She was surprised; she had not been _planning _to speak. She was, however, becoming used  
to the fact that the boy's presence invoked unplanned reactions.

"No, you are not," she said. "I am."

This was true; the instructor, Dr. McCoy, had told her so, in a whisper, excitedly pointing out her result on the computerized student list (while covering the other grades  
with a piece of paper so she would not see). Laura decided she had spoken because the boy's facts and evidence had been erroneous. That was all.

She shifted, uncomfortable. Regretting speaking, as usual. The boy opened his mouth, but no sound came out. It was like static on a radio.

"Laura! You did not tell me you were such an excellent student!" Sofia said, gifted with social skills. "Perhaps you can help me with my math. As Julian said…I am not so good."

"I wasn't talking about y—" Julian said. He paused, seeing an opportunity. "_I_ can help you, Sofia."

"No, thank-you," Sofia said, smiling. "I'd rather have the best in class."

Julian's mouth opened again, then he glared at Laura. "Wow, so you're good at math. That's 'coz you don't do _anything _else. You probably sit up at night, in your room, doing  
math problems while the rest of us are out having—"

"Yes," Laura said truthfully. Honestly.

Julian stopped, seeing he was getting no where. Laura seemed to be missing something, the sense of angst and low self esteem that his other targets had. It wasn't that she  
had a thick skin to cover the weakness—she just didn't have it _at all. _It wasn't natural.

Sofia smiled at him again. "Do you not have a class?"

"Well, yeah, but I _always _have time for you," he said winningly.

"Do not allow me to make you late," Sofia said. "Although, it is somewhat amusing, to watch you insult my friends, while simultaneously paying me compliments. I wonder how  
you are good at math, with logic like that."

"…" Julian stared at her. "Sofia—it's just your friends are _losers,_ and I'm trying to help them out—show them what's wrong, so they can fix it."

"Hardly," Laurie mumbled, looking away.

"You'd be cool if you wouldn't hang out with them," Julian continued. "Really—you should stick to me, and my friends…we've got the edge. We're _going_ somewhere, Sof, and  
it makes me sad to see you sticking behind with them." He'd leaned closer for the last part, to look her in the eyes.

At that moment, Laura's hair fell into her face (ironically, since they had just been talking about it); she reached up to brush it away.

Julian jumped backwards, dropping his books. "Stay the FUCK away from me, you creepy—!" he yelled, obviously thinking that she was about to attack him.

Laura froze, her hand in her hair, and her eyes wide.

Sofia's smile widened. "Oh, that was too funny! Really, you are very entertaining, Julian, but we are hungry, and you are late for class. Goodbye now."

She took her friends' hands—Laura's was still frozen in her hair—and led them away, laughing softly. Julian was left staring at the ground, at the mess he now had to clean up.

_Fucking clone, _he thought. _Show _her _who's the best here._

**…**

"….and the answer is…." Dr. McCoy paused, the chalk in his hand. He was working through a problem on the blackboard, and the students were supposed to perform the  
calculators. There was a mad scramble as the calculators were pulled out, and keys were pressed.

"Unf!"

Dr. McCoy turned his head to look at a student—Laura, the newcomer. Her calculator had flown out of her hand and clattered to the ground.

"Nine point three five five four, sir," the student sitting beside her said loudly.

"Nine point three five five four," Dr. McCoy repeated, writing the digits on the blackboard. The chalk made a scratchy noise.

Laura picked up her calculator as the doctor began the next equation, and examined it in dismay. Whatever the boy had done had broken it—it was now stuck on the  
digits '60065', and she could not clear it.

She glanced at Julian, beside her. He was sitting with his hand poised over his calculator, his expression completely neutral. His eyes were focused on the blackboard, as  
he prepared to enter the next set of digits.

He was pretending not to know anything about her calculator, even though she'd distinctly seen the screen light up with green before it flew out of her hands.

"And now, because we are solving for _f_, we divide _e _times _d _by _c _times _b _divided by _a_…plugging in the digits, we find _f _is equal to…" the chalk was poised again; the class  
was a flurry of button-clicking, with Julian's the loudest. He obviously wanted to be the first to answer.

"Seven point two four nine five zero six one," Laura said.

The class fell silent and turned to look at her. The boy stared openly, obviously disturbed, because he knew for _certain _that she had no calculator.

"You did that in your head?" Dr. McCoy asked, looking at her also.

"Yes," Laura said.

"Impressive," the doctor said. "I wish I could do that."

Several people snickered. Laura was confused; she hadn't meant to show off. If anything, she'd been anxious not to allow the boy to interfere with her education.

"Now…the subject of significant figures arises…"

**…**

In the hallway. The boy ran after her, again. "Hey, _clone!_"

Laura didn't turn. He confidently reached out and grabbed her shoulder.

"Yeah, I'm talking to _you, _Morticia," he said, sneering as he put pressure on the joint. She considered, then turned around to face him, her eyebrows raised. He seemed to  
want a confrontation; he was glaring at her angrily. His body language spoke of anger, outrage, and anxiety—perhaps as to how others perceived him.

"Thanks for making me look like a complete _idiot_ in front of Sofia this morning," he said, his voice drawling.

Laura paused. How should she respond to this?

"I am not the one you should be thanking," she said, after a moment.

Julian folded his arms. "Oh really? I see how it is. You think _I'm _the douchebag here. Well, guess what."

"What?" Laura asked.

"I see right through you. You think you're better than me…you think you're better than _everyone _here. I've _seen _how you walk around, your nose in the air."

Laura wondered if she should point out that it was he himself that practiced this, but he wasn't done. "I'll take you down. I'll make your life here so miserable you'll  
wish you could _leave._"

"Then I will leave," Laura said, not the response he had been hoping for—or expecting. He wanted to see her back down, cringe, knowing he could fully carry this threat  
out. He had friends, big friends, and he wasn't powerless himself, by any means. Oh, far from it.

"But—" Julian's eyes narrowed. "I'm sure your parents won't be pleased that you—"

"I am a clone, and my mother is dead," Laura said coldly. "I am responsible for myself, unlike you." Her first insult—no, wait, that had been to Rice, when she'd called him  
an animal. After slitting his throat. "I will leave, providing the circumstances become uncomfortable. You will find I am very…tolerant."

"You're _on,_ clone," he said nastily. Laura found herself suddenly off balance; she stumbled backwards, knocking several people on her way to the wall, which she hit with  
considerable force. She opened her eyes to see Julian wave and walk away, with a satisfied expression.

She blew hair out of her face.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Once again, thanks for all the kind reviews X-D can't believe this story is getting so much love. Glad you all like it!

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**-6-  
**

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* * *

  
**

Laura pulled away from the classroom door, having just witnessed something she did not want to witness. A student—Josh—embracing a teacher—Rahne Sinclaire—and kissing her.

Having been a street walker, Laura was not disturbed by the thought of intimacy, or embarrassed; however, she _did_ know this was wrong. She had read the school's policy and  
taken it seriously when Mr. Summers had given it to her; and it had clearly stated that student-teacher relationships were out of the question.

Laura decided that she would find Rahne later to ask about her assignment's mark. The girl, only a few years older than her, had given her a percentage grading she did not agree  
with, and she had wished to question her.

Now was probably not a good time.

Disturbed, Laura turned, and made her way up the hallway. She had about half an hour before she needed to be in art class, taught by Mr. Rasputin; so far, she found the class to  
be quite difficult. The instructor had started the class off with a 'take-home' assignment far too vague ('paint vhatever you vant'), and she had decided, after a while, that she would  
reconstruct a meaningful event in her life—slitting Rice's throat. This had earned her an appointment with a concerned Mr. Rasputin and somewhat afterwards a slightly amused Mr. Summers.

Apparently, not all the staff knew of her background.

"Laura?" called the pheromone girl—Laurie—in a shy voice, as if she did not _want_ to be heard.

"Hello," Laura said, turning her head.

"Have you seen Josh?" Laurie asked, smiling slightly. "He said he was going to meet me after class for coffee."

Laura nodded. "He is with Ms. Sinclair," she said.

"_Oh,_" said Laurie, looking slightly taken back. "What are they doing?"

"Embracing," Laura answered truthfully. "And engaging in oral affections. The teacher-student policy specifically forbids such acts, I wonder if—"

She paused. Laurie had turned white; her eyes filled up. "JUST SHUT UP!" she screamed, releasing a wave of pheromones that set Laura's heart pounding, and broke the blood vessels  
in her eyes as her claws popped.

They ran away from each other, Laurie towards the office containing Josh, and Laura down the hall.

…

Laura sat in the garden, recuperating. She'd had a hard time coaxing her heart to slow; the only times she'd felt so keen on destruction were during exposure to the trigger scent,  
and the idea scared her. She was making—_associations—_here at the school. This event had reminded her how easily she could kill them all.

Voices—in the distance. Laura looked up; in the air, the boy, and Sofia, heading slowly towards the roof, talking.

"—you misunderstand." Sofia.

"What's there to misunderstand?" Julian asked. "Be honest, it _has_ to be me…no one likes their friends _that_ much, that they'll turn someone down if they really like him. Am I right, or  
am I right?" His voice was quiet; this was a moment he'd meant for only Sofia to hear.

Laura closed her eyes, her expression terse. _Why? _She was constantly the fly on the wall today, even though she wanted no part in any of it.

"Julian…" Sofia said. "I care for my friends. When we are alone…I like who you are. But you change when others are around. You become mean, and selfish, and very  
arrogant. I wish you would not. Otherwise…"

"Otherwise?"

Sofia stopped, as did he. Laura realized, in panic, that they appeared to be drawing nearer, to kiss; something about seeing Josh and the teacher—and the subsequent fear  
pheromones that Laurie had applied to her—caused her to feel that the negative experience was about to repeat itself, and something terrible would happen to _her. _

So she bolted, tearing up a large piece of turf in her efforts to get away before _she_ could be punished for this event.

"_**AHH!**_" the boy yelled from the air, seeing her out of the corner of his eye. "HEY! It's that--"

Laura was already gone.

**…**

"How's it goin', kid?" Logan asked, wiping oil off his hands.

He'd been working on his bike, an old Harley Davidson, and Laura had just slammed the garage door open, panting, her expression: not amused.

Although, when was Laura _ever_ amused?

"I am not comfortable here," Laura said, her voice clipped. "There are too many social interactions. I have witnessed, in the space of thirty minutes, two intimate situations."

"Heh," Logan said. "Got yerself all wrapped up in the high school drama, huh?"

Laura fixed him with a stony glare. "I do not enjoy…this."

"Kid…it's springtime. Animals get twitterpainted, an' us humans are no different. Gotta get used to it," Logan said, amused. "Hell, you should dive right _into _it. I'm surprised  
you ain't been targeted yet. Not that any of these little punks are good enough fer ya…but I been waiting to have intimidation talks, and you just keep disappointin' me."

"I do not wish to engage in such pointless behavior," Laura said. She sat down on the stairs of the garage.

"I think it'd be good fer you. Normally, I'd say—avoid it. But you, you need all the interaction you can get." He picked up a wrench and twisted the knob to adjust the head  
size. "Learn from the others, kid…that's what you have to be like to survive in this world. To fit in."

Laura was silent. She stayed for a while, watching Logan work on his bike and answering the occasional question regarding her studies.

…

The day, however, was not over. Before lunch, Laura witnessed David and Nori have a moment of silent eye contact, the latter flushing; and then Cessily, as she watched a  
boy cross the cafeteria. After a meal of keeping her eyes glued to her salad, Laura stormed off to her math class, now in a very irritated mood. She was early but she would  
rather wait in an area likely to be deserted.

Who was at the door but the boy? Who looked very irritated as well.

"Move," Laura said calmly, as he stood in front of the door, his arms folded.

"It's not unlocked yet," he said, his lip curled. "Besides, I have a bone to pick with _you._ Why were you stalking me and Sofia today, Morticia?"

"I was not—"

"You sure as hell were," he said, his eyes glittering angrily. "Just how much did you hear?"

Laura realized why he was being so defensive. He did not care that she had seen them about to be intimate—no, he would _enjoy_ publicizing that fact. He was afraid she'd heard  
him admitting faults to Sofia by not arguing with her criticism.

"Only that you are '_mean, and selfish, and very arrogant_'," Laura quoted.

Julian's eyes widened. "You…"

Laura gave him a cold look. "We are colleagues," she said. "I do not wish to discuss your personal life at any length."

"You just took a shot at me, you skank," Julian said, angry. "You are _not_ any 'colleague' of mine!"

"I did not do anything. You asked me what I had heard, and that is what I heard," Laura said. She knew she had omitted parts of the conversation, but the words she had chosen  
had seemed most prudent—and most descriptive of him.

"Well…" Julian shifted. He didn't know what to say to her, in response; technically she _hadn't_ said anything that wasn't true. Laura annoyed him beyond reason; he had the constant  
feeling that she was _laughing _at him, outwitting him in many situations, but it was so hard to catch her. She made it fit so well that it almost seemed accidental.

Silence.

He unfolded his arms. "Let's be straight. We hate each other," he said, trying to get her to take a stand, to admit that she was opposing him.

Laura smiled slightly. "I do not hate you." This was said truthfully, as the only people she had ever hated—and ever would hate—were Dr. Zander Rice and her handler, Kimura.

Julian exhaled through his nose. "Well, _I _hate you," he said bitterly. "I wish you had never come to this school, clone. You're not wanted here."

She was silent.

He kicked the ground in frustration and stuck his hands in his pockets. It was awkward to be stuck in the hallway with a person he despised. It would be even more awkward if he  
attempted a conversation, after what he'd just declared. He wished she would have at least been big enough to be _open _about it, like Ashida was. She was very clear about her  
hatred of him, and the feeling was mutual.

Ashida was _easy_ to deal with. He knew exactly what to say to rile her up when he was bored, and she always provided a reaction. She was even willing to fight him physically  
over some of his comments.

With Laura, most mean, hurtful comments he'd made to her so far seemed to go right past her; over her head. He'd only gotten a reaction twice, and they seemed more like  
accidents. He didn't even quite remember what he'd said the first time—when he'd actually gotten her to punch him—because he'd been too alarmed by the spectacular nature  
of her response. No yelling beforehand—no threatening—barely even signs of anger. Normal one moment, and psychotic killer the next. At that moment he'd instinctively  
known that—had Logan not stopped her—she might have killed him.

Why did he keep trying to egg her on then? Even _he_ wasn't quite sure, except he knew he didn't like her, and it was what he _did_ to people he didn't like. He made his distaste  
known. Why should Laura be any different?

He shifted again and glanced at the clock. Fifteen minutes to class. Dr. McCoy had promised to come a few minutes early to help him with a problem on his assignment—one of  
the 'brain-buster' ones that had kept him up till two last night trying to solve. He wanted the bonus marks.

"Ah, children, sorry I've kept you waiting," Dr. McCoy said, rushing down the hallway towards the door while juggling a large text book, a pencil back, a set of keys and a coffee  
in his paws. He paused at the door, wondering how he was going to open it.

"I'll hold something, sir," Julian said quickly, consciously trying to suck up.

**…**

"Laura! Ms. Frost's asked us all to her office," Cessily said, at lunch. "Something about uniforms for the Squad. We get to pick them, or something."

Laura looked up from her pizza. "You may choose for me," she said.

"No! _You _have to pick your own! It's the best part!" Cessily sat down in the free spot opposite her, even though it wasn't her table. "It'll be fun. And she said something about  
codenames too…we're all supposed to think of something we want to be called on the field. It has to be descriptive." She paused. "I think I should be called Mercury…don't you?"

"It is effective," Laura agreed.

Cessily smiled. "What about _you?_ What are you going to call yourself?"

Laura paused now. X-23 came to mind; her old name, the name of a science experiment, of a monster.

_Your name is Laura, and not X-23._

"I…Talon," she said, thinking of the child on the train, and the picture of an Eagle's claw. It seemed sufficiently descriptive.

"That's cool," Cessily agreed. She was silent for a moment. "We should totally hang out more. I mean, we _are_ roommates…and it's so stupid to let a boy get between us, don't you agree?"

Laura didn't answer.

"Do you want to have a girl's night out with Sooraya and me this weekend?" Cessily asked. "It would be fun! We could shop, and go to dinner, and…" she paused. "I have  
a friend who could get us booze."

"Okay," Laura said, sensing it was what Cessily wanted her to say, quite desperately. Indeed, her roommate looked excited.

"Yay! It'll be totally fun," she said. "Hurry up and finish eating, Frost said we need to be there by 12:30!"

**…**

The students that were to form the Squad stood in Ms. Frost's office, gazing at a spandex outfit laid out on her oak desk. Emma Frost sat behind the display, in her  
leather-padded chair, with a clipboard.

"This is the uniform _template,_" Ms. Frost said, emphasizing the _t. _"You will each be allowed to customize it to your own specifications."

Laura peered at the uniform silently. It was red, and white.

"This is entirely too visible for combat situations," she said, wrinkling her nose.

"_I_ think it looks awesome," the boy said. "I'm sure _you'd_ like us to dress in all black, Kinney," he said. He was doing his utmost to hold back to contempt in his voice in front of Frost, but failing.

"Yes," Laura said. "Brightly colored clothing have the effect of target signs."

Silence.

"Be that as it may, Ms. Kinney, _this_ is the template," Emma Frost said. "You needn't worry about visibility at this stage of your training. Besides…our uniforms are made for public appeal. We  
wish to appear friendly, not threatening, and psychologically, bright colors are perceived as more positive than dark."

"Bright colors are the choice of warning markings for poison-dart frogs, and most toxic animals," Laura argued.

"Kinney…that is enough," Ms. Frost said firmly.

Laura closed her mouth, frustrated. She had a great deal more experience than this _woman _in combat situations; why was her opinion not being valued as such?

The rest of the Squad appeared to be holding back laughter, except for the two girls; Cessily appeared concerned, and Sooraya looked as if she did not know what to make of this.

"Each of you will take a sheet of paper, and with this pen—and this template in mind—draw your uniform on the figure provided." Laura accepted the sheet—her lips still pressed  
together firmly—and the pen.

She placed the sheet against the desk and considered the figure. She did not agree with the colors involved; therefore, she would try to wear as little of it as possible. She thought  
back to Megan's wardrobe, then began to draw.

**…**

"Now, we are going to decide on your codenames," Ms. Frost said, having received all of the templates. She raised her eyebrows upon seeing Laura's, but said nothing. Not that  
she was really in a position to, anyways.

"They should be descriptive of your abilities. They should be one or two syllable monikers that are easy to remember and pronounce. I will ask you in alphabetical order of your  
names." She was at her computer now.

"Brian?"

Brian was a dark-skinned boy with dreadlocked hair. Jamaican, presumably, from his accent. He had been quiet for the most part; Laura had only been in close quarters with him for the  
first Squad meeting, and he had barely spoken. He seemed to let Julian do the thinking for him, perhaps afraid of being found unfavorable.

"Tag," Brian responded. Laura had the feeling he had decided on it beforehand as well—and that the decision had not entirely been his own.

"Good. Jay?"

Emma Frost was now asking the winged boy, Jay Guthrie. He had been silent, too, but Laura felt it was more for his own purposes. He did not seem to like Julian either; and from the  
boy's reaction—_what are _they _doing here?—_Laura suspected that he had refused an offer of friendship in the past.

"Icarus," Jay said. His voice was sad.

"Interesting. Julian?"

The boy, now. He looked pleased; he'd obviously been waiting.

"Hellion," Julian said.

Emma Frost paused.

"Mr. Keller…"

"They were your favorite students, right?" he asked eagerly.

Laura sensed Emma Frost was hesitant. There was something there…something about the name. Was it fear she smelled? Yes, yes it was.

Something bad had happened to her previous Hellions, whatever they were.

"The name should be descriptive of your powers," Ms. Frost said.

"It is," Laura said under her breath, her tone negative. Silence; everyone looked at her in surprise. Laura herself was surprised. The statement had no factual evidence. It was pure  
opinion, and yet…she found she did not regret it.

"_Burn_," the large, rock boy said, grinning.

"I promise, I won't let the name down." Julian said, ignoring Laura.

Emma Frost nodded. "See to it that you don't…and _then _we will talk. Cessily?"

"Well…since I'm made of it…Mercury," she said. "Everyone already calls me that, so it won't be a big adjustment."

Ms. Frost typed it in. "Laura?"

Laura opened her mouth to say 'Talon'.

"X-23." Came out instead.

Silence again.

"Laura…" Ms. Frost paused, her eyebrows drawn together. Perhaps she knew of the circumstances attached to that codename. "This is a fresh start for you. Please…pick  
something that will allow you to grow."

Laura ignored the eyes on her again. "I do not know if I will respond to anything else," she said. "It would be more efficient to—"

"Efficiency isn't important here," Ms. Frost said. "Not as important as it is for you to _learn. _Do you have another choice?"

"I…Talon," Laura said. She was not used to efficiency being the second objective.

The boy was watching her, his expression mixed. Was that curiosity?

"Very good. Sooraya?"

"Dust," the girl said simply.

"And Santo?"

"Rockslide. I was gonna go with Rocky…but that'd bring up images of the movie…and I _hate_ it," he grumbled.

"Excellent." Emma Frost clicked a button, saving the file. "Children, we have accomplished much in a short period of time. The uniforms will be ready in a week…in time for the school  
assembly, where you will be presented as one of Xavier Institute's first squads!"

**…**

Laura headed towards the girls' dormitories, disgruntled. These meetings left her with a sense of unease; she had still not formed an opinion of Frost; she was with people she mostly  
did not like; she was being forced to wear a dangerous uniform; and now, she would have a different name. In addition to being paraded in front of the whole school, when she was  
uncomfortable in social situations.

Footsteps, behind her.

"Clone! Wait up!"

She hurried down the hall, searching for her door, of the room she shared with Cessily. She did _not_ want to speak to Julian; this would, for sure, put her in an unfavorable mood. She  
reached her door and began to insert the key, but she was too late; he was already approaching.

"What was that?" he called.

"What was what?" Laura parroted, the door now open.

"Back there." He stopped, in front of her now. "A fresh start, Frost said…and you, and that weird name…Kinney, if you're going to be on _my_ team, I have to know what's going on."

Laura paused. She had been correct; he _was_ curious. Somehow, this question was bereft of malice.

"The details are irrelevant. My personal life will not effect your squad." She stepped into the room and began to close the door; he caught it and pushed against it, following her in  
(despite not being invited). "Hey—I asked you a question! _What was that all about, clone?" _

Laura stared at him for a moment, now angry. He had succeeded in making her angry, by crossing personal boundaries.

"Where do you think clones come from?" she asked, her words clipped.

"…" Julian stared at her. "…well…I don't know?" Even now, his voice was defensive; he couldn't admit that he was making a blunder, that he was behaving inappropriately. He did not  
take responsibility for his own actions.

"The details are irrelevant," Laura repeated. "I do not wish to discuss this. Please, leave, or I will remove you."

"Look…I want to know," he said. "I've been thinking…about how I hate you…and I don't understand a lot about you. You're such a bitch, and sometimes I think you don't know it. I want  
to know why. I…I won't tell anyone." His voice was slightly lighter.

"I do not wish to discuss this," Laura said, her voice very firm as she turned her back to him to turn on her desk lamp.

"Please?" Julian said, probably the first time he'd _ever_ said it.

Laura paused. "I am a clone. I was created in-vitero and inserted into a surrogate mother, who is now dead. I received tactical training at the facility that created me. And now I am here. Is  
that sufficient?" She was angry, very angry that he'd forced this much out of her.

"So you're a science experiment," he said. She heard him folding his arms. "What kind of training? Did they treat you well?"

"I do not wish to discuss this. What I have imparted with you is _far more _than you have or will ever need to know." Laura turned around. "_Go._"

Julian stepped back. "Fine, fine, I'm leaving, jeez. Don't have to go all _psycho _on me when I was just trying to find out about you." He left quickly, snapping the door shut behind himself.

Laura sat at her desk, holding her face in her hands and wondering if she'd made a mistake, imparting even that much.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **Thanks guys! X-D

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**-7-**

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_**In just an hour, the school assembly will begin. If I can please have all of my students meet me in my office, wearing your costumes, I would be most pleased. Thank you kindly.**_

A mentally communicated message, from Emma Frost. Laura froze and stared into the mirror. She'd been brushing her teeth after lunch; her cheeks were bulging, and the toothbrush still stuck  
out of her mouth, to a somewhat comical effect. Laura did not find it amusing, however.

The more she had thought about it, the more uncomfortable she had become with the idea of being _presented_ to the entire school—when she wanted to draw as little attention as was  
possible to her existence. She'd asked Logan about this multiple times, but he had reassured her that it was mandatory—and 'virtually risk free'. Finally he'd ordered Laura to attend;  
and while she was still afraid, this had assuaged any doubts she had about whether she would make an appearance or not.

She could still not combat direct orders.

_The trigger scent, _she thought, with a thrill of terror. What if Kimura showed up? What if—somehow—the trigger scent was planted in the school, as it had been planted in Debbie's tea by her  
boy friend Desmond? All it would take was a mutant hate-group to pay the facility enough, and the entire school would be at risk of death by her hand. Or a great portion of it, anyway; she  
did account for the fact that the Professors could subdue her, given a few costly moments.

Laura turned off the tap, shook her toothbrush off and placed it back in the holder, then headed back into the bedroom she shared with Cessily. She reached the dresser and opened her  
drawer; there was the offensive costume, folded neatly in the corner. She took it out—two small pieces of a spandex/vinyl blend and a belt, and began to undress hastily.

Precisely one minute later, Laura was clad in her uniform, and pulling on her boots (also red, with white stripes). She bit her tongue as she thought of how easy it would be for an enemy  
to sight her in this. She resembled an attention-getting stop sign, like one might see on a road.

Laura looked at the countertop of the dresser, and picked up a claw-like hair restraining device. Without looking in the mirror she twisted her hair up into a neat bun and pinned it, having been  
trained to perform costume changes sans visual guidance—should it not be available on the field.

_The mission is to remain calm and present myself at Emma Frost's office, _she thought. Something she did, at times, to clarify situations and calm doubts.

Taking a deeper breath, Laura then headed towards the door.

**…**

_**Come in, dear, **_Frost said directly into Laura's mind once again.

She pushed open the oak door and surveyed the room. Emma Frost was seated at her desk, in her X-men uniform (slightly more racy than her civilian attire); before it stood 'Hellion', in a  
costume like her own, except with much more fabric.

_Much _more. He'd turned at the sound of the door opening, and his mouth opened slightly as he stared at the clone. The minimal fabric she was wearing rivaled Ms. Frost's outfit; indeed,  
there was probably _less_, as the girl had not opted for a jacket or cape of any kind. Just a—a bikini top—wrist gloves—and a _very_ short pair of—shorts, distractingly short—so that they  
barely reached the tops of her thighs. And after what seemed to be miles of bare leg skin, the boots.

He was disturbed. How could anyone do _exercises_ in an outfit like that? It looked as if the slightest move in any direction could cause things to spill out. He felt irritation; finally he decided  
he was annoyed that she would distract the male members of his team, and look more like a cheerleader than a squad member; perhaps not be taken seriously. And _he_ wanted to be  
taken seriously.

Julian shifted uncomfortably, an automatic reaction, and looked at Ms. Frost, hoping she'd pick up on his very real concerns without him saying anything.

Ms. Frost smiled, apparently allowing Laura's transgression. The door opened again and several more squad members entered—Santo, Cessily, and Brian.

He felt relieved. There were other people to pay attention to now.

…

There was a large stage, with a podium, situated before a sea of collapsible chairs (Laura counted eighty) which were filled, with seated students and faculty, their eyes focused  
on the man behind the podium.

She stood in-between Cessily and Sooraya, in the line of children wearing matching red and white uniforms. They were waiting for Cyclops to announce them to the school; then they would  
be allowed to join the other students to watch the proceedings. Laura had sighted a chair in the back row that would be perfect and allow her to blend in as much as possible.

Cyclops was speaking.

"In light of recent dangers faced by the school, we will be making some changes. Every student will receive advanced combat training. You will train in squads, mentored by X-men advisers. These  
squads will consist of seven students each. Students in these squads will have codenames assigned and will receive training uniforms." He paused, and Laura studied his expression. Scott Summers  
was an interesting character; stern but kind, professional but at times he expressed a sense of humor that Laura found she mostly understood. He _was_ a born leader, and she found that she had  
the utmost respect for him, as to what she had seen so far. The only other men that had ever earned her respect were the Kingpin (Wilson Fisk) and Logan, through various circumstances.

"Those squads that have already been chosen will be introduced today, but all of you will be in a squad before the month is over. I will be serving as advisor to the first squad, which will consist  
of the following students. Celeste, Mindee and Phoebe Cuckoo; codename: the Stepford Cuckoos. Callie Betto; codename: Dryad. Max Jordon; codename: Quill. Dallas Gibson; codename: Specter.  
Mark Sheppard; codename: DJ." Cyclops gestured to each of the students as he spoke their names. "And those are the members of my squad, the Corsairs."

He turned to the headmistress. "Miss Frost will now introduce her squad."

Emma Frost smiled, and placed a hand on her hip, then began to gesture to the line Laura stood in.

"Julian Keller; codename: Hellion. Cessily Kincaid; codename: Mercury. Laura Kinney—" Laura closed her eyes; this was her. "—codename: Talon. Sooraya Qadir; codename: Dust. Santo Vaccarro…"

Laura did not pay much attention to the rest of the assembly (although she automatically recorded it in her mind, she did not analyze it), too busy subconsciously expecting an attack at any moment,  
now that her identity had been publicized.

**…**

"Laura! _There _you are!" Cessily, having torn open the door of the room they shared, in a rather violent manner. "Get dressed!"

Alarmed, Laura looked up from her homework. She had not heard anything, but at the note of urgency in her roommate's voice, she assumed that they were under attack. There were ways to  
avoid detection. She shoved her chair away from the desk and stood. "Have the attackers been identified?" she asked.

Cessily blinked. "Um…no. We're going out now!"

Laura paused.

"Remember? You agreed to come hang out with me and Sooraya."

"Yes." Laura shifted. "I have an assignment, I must—"

"You _always_ have an assignment!" Cessily said. "No buts! Come on…we're having a girl's night out, and you need to get ready!" She grabbed Laura by her shoulder and steered her towards  
the closet, opening it with one hand.

"Ohmigod!" Cessily gasped, seeing the closet was three-quarters empty, with only five sparse items on the hangers. "Seriously?"

"Is something the matter?" Laura asked cluelessly.

"Dude! You've got next to _nothing!_" Cessily picked up one item on a long, looping finger, and examined it critically. "This ties it…you'll have to borrow something from mine. I think we're about the same size, hey?"

"I am fine with my own clo—" Laura started, but she was being pushed across the room to the other closet. Cessily's hand tore the door open, and she was confronted with a barrage of overflowing clothing.

Laura blinked. How could one person own so much? Cessily almost had more than Megan.

**…**

"Got dates?" Josh grinned down from the staircase at Laura and Cessily, both clad in skirts and make-up.

"No," Cessily said in an annoyed tone. "We're going _out_ for girl's night. We're waiting for Sooraya."

"Oho," Josh said. "Threesome! Hey—" _Thunk. _"_OW!_"

Cessily retracted her long, silver limb and glared at him. "You're such a buttwipe, Foley. I can see _why_ Julian hates you."

Josh rubbed his head, glaring back at Cessily. "He's worse, and you know it!"

Laura watched the exchange that followed with curiosity. It ended with Josh storming up the staircase, mumbling insults under his breath.

"_BOYS,_" Cessily said, exasperated. "Oh, good! Sooraya—over here!"

…

At an movie theatre, in the back row, sat the three girls, eating popcorn. Sooraya had removed her face veiling to reveal a pretty face with slanted almond eyes; she, too, had pinned up her hair,  
although she had not applied makeup. The girls shared a large bucket of popcorn, and although a movie was playing, Cessily had taken it upon herself to make conversation.

"This is so awesome, the new thing the school's trying!" she said. "I've always wanted to be a, you know. It'd be so awesome! Helping people all day, wearing a hot skintight outfit…Laura, I  
can't _believe_ Ms. Frost let you wear that thing!"

"Is it unacceptable?" Laura asked.

"It's a piece of toothfloss!" Cessily said, grinning.

"It is made of a spandex-vinyl blend, 25 percent polyster, 72 percent elastic lycra, and 3 percent rubber vinyl, as well as—"

"No, I meant it's really daring. Every boy on the squad is panting over you, you know."

"Panting?"

Cessily grinned again. "Totally! There was practically drool on the stage." She turned to Sooraya. "How come you didn't take a costume?"

"I do not wish to flaunt myself in front of men," Sooraya said, her tone stiff. "The school relaxed its policy in the light of my religious beliefs."

"Oh." Cessily paused, feeling the need to change the subject. She glanced at Laura to see if the girl had taken offense to Sooraya's comment, but apparently she had not. "How do you like  
Jay, Sooraya?" she asked.

Sooraya looked surprised. "I like Jay," she finally responded. "He is a gentle spirit and is honorable in both action and word."

"I like him too," Cessily said. "He's easy to talk to…and I never feel like he's judging me. I think something hurt him really bad in the past, though. He's so sad, sometimes…"

"Yes," Sooraya said.

Cessily turned abruptly to Laura. "Are you and Julian speaking yet?"

Laura raised her eyebrows. "I have spoken to Julian," she confirmed. "We have traded a total of 302.5 words this semester, including unfinished sentences."

The other girls stared at her. Finally Cessily spoke.

"I meant…are you friends with him?"

Laura shifted. "No," she said. "He has declared hostility towards me."

Cessily looked wicked for a moment. "I was watching him, during the assembly. Laura…I think he _likes _you. As in, he's totally all over your costume. Didn't you notice him glancing at  
you, like, every twenty seconds?"

Laura blinked, then chose to deal with the sentence she understood. "He observed everyone in attendance. His visual data was not limited to myself."

"But he _kept_ looking at you," Cessily insisted.

"Cessily…let us speak of something else," Sooraya said gently, seeing that Laura seemed confused and uncomfortable with the subject at hand. She had her reservations about the  
girl's morals, but she did not believe it right to force her to divulge information she wished to stay private, when it harmed no one else.

"Perhaps…we could discuss our mentor?"

**…**

In the woods, near the mansion grounds, the girls sat in a circle, passing around a bottle of whiskey. Sooraya had taken one sip and afterwards passed on the bottle without drinking  
each time it reached her.

"This is awesome!" Cessily said. "We should totally do this more often. I used to have friends…I mean, I do now, but back at home, in my old school, I had friends like _us._ I was cheerleading  
captain. I had two best friends forever, Lisa and Dia…god, it hurt to lose them!" Cessily frowned for a moment.

Sooraya frowned. "They did not accept your mutation?"

Cessily snorted, a pig-like sound. "Hah! Hardly. They just about led a lynch mob to chase me out of town when I told them…when the silver patches first started showing up. It didn't happen  
all at once, you know. I had this weird thing appear on my arm…I thought it was a bruise at first, then it became a sore…soo embarrassing…then I turned into pizza-face."

"Pizza-face?" Laura asked.

"Zits, _everywhere._ My skin was boiling. It was awful…I thought it was just bad acne. I used to get stress zits all the time. And then…" she pointed her finger on the hand holding the  
whiskey bottle, causing it to make sloshing noises. "…then it just cleared up. Poof, perfect. I thought it was the meds finally workin'…but it wasn't. I got up one morning, turned on the  
light…and there was a patch of metal spreading over my face. I literally _melted_ into a puddle of mercury…like, how scary is that?!"

Neither Sooraya nor Laura answered, although Sooraya appeared to be sympathetic.

"How about you, Laura? When did you find you could heal yourself?"

Laura paused. "I do not wish to discuss this."

"No, c'mon! It's only us girls. We won't tell anyone."

"Cessily, I—" she turned her head, listening; a few moments later, Sofia, Laurie and Nori's approach could be heard.

"I smelled booze!" Nori called. "You Hellions going to be decent and _share_ it?"

Cessily sneered at the three girls, her eyes on Laurie, now standing above the ring. "Get lost."

Laura began to get up.

"No!" Cessily said. "Stay, Laura, please. I was having an awesome time."

Sofia smiled at Cessily. "The wind told me that it was only us girls. Julian is not here, and therefore neither are the roles he has tried to place us in."

…

"I was at school when I first found out," Sofia said, now holding the second flask of alcohol opened that night. Everyone (except for Sooraya, who had abstained from drinking, and  
Laura, who was only very mildly effected, due to her healing factor) was in a relaxed, pleasant mood, no longer agitated with each other. "I've always been able to—at times—hear  
things from a great distance—but on _that_ day, I made the wind move for the first time." She paused, smiling nostalgically.

"What happened?" Laurie asked.

"Oh, a boy made me angry," Sofia said, her smile widening. "Without meaning to, I created a small tornado in his chocolate pudding. It went everywhere, and it appeared as if he had  
an accident. That is what the teacher believed, anyway. After that, many things happened." Sofia grinned. "Paper airplanes carrying notes between bullies did not meet their targets  
nearby me. Trays became hazardous in the hands of someone who picked on others. Anyone who made me angry became victim to my wind, without my knowledge. Finally, one day,  
my mother and I had an argument in the kitchen, one night, when she was doing her taxes."

"HAHAHA!" Cessily thumped the ground with her hand. "She must have been so mad! I remember daddy during tax time."

"Yes, she was quite irritated," Sofia said. She glanced at Laurie expectantly.

"Oh, nothing important for me," Laurie said shyly. "Just caused some fake…popularity. It was all really slow and gradual at first…then it got more and more sudden. That's all."

Nori held up a finger. "Yeah, mine was like that too. I just started running faster and faster when I was out playing with my brother. It started around when I was nine…by twelve, I  
could do the super-speed thing. The electricity started at fourteen, though, and _that_ was the deal breaker…couldn't hide it."

Eyes again turned to Laura, but she repeated, firmly:

"I do not wish to discuss this."

**…**

The girls talked for quite a while, the topic ranging from clothes and styles, to teachers, to favorite topics, music, and inevitably relationships. Laurie ranted openly about Josh, then  
admitted she missed him; Cessily dropped comments about a boy that most knew to be Kevin; Nori refused to tell, as did Sooraya (who stated firmly that she was not ready for  
marriage, as her culture demanded, and that would be the only circumstances under which she was in close quarters with a boy). Sofia, when asked of Julian, replied: "What _about _  
Julian? He is obnoxious, and he makes hurtful comments about my friends. I will not have anything to do with such a person." but later added, "He is…attractive," under her breath,  
which only Laura heard.

Laura remained silent.

"It is getting late," said Sooraya, who also had not contributed. She rose to her feet and held out a hand to Cessily, who took it and stood too quickly.

She swayed.

"Woo-oah! Guess I had a bit more than I thought!"

Sooraya began to help Cessily back towards the mansion; Laura turned to go as well, but Sofia caught her arm. "Laura—I have a question," she asked, her voice small, as if she did not want to ask it.

"Yes?" Laura asked.

"Am I doing the right thing? With Julian? Have I treated him poorly?"

Laura thought. What did Sofia mean? She did not call him names, she did not beat him, or otherwise harm him; yet she sensed that was not what the girl meant.

"No," she said.

Sofia seemed relieved (although slightly drunk).

Laura followed the others back to the school.

Afterward, in the room they shared, Cessily dosed off while Laura sat at her desk, contemplating her situation at the school in general, and the fact that she had revealed herself. Not only at the  
assembly, but to Cessily, at the theater (by her reaction), and to the boy, who had ordered her to (by her words).

She felt uncomfortable.


	8. Chapter 8

* * *

**  
-8-**

* * *

"Is anything the matter, Laura?" Sofia asked after English class, frowning. The girl had been silent all day. No, that wasn't the word for it—Laura was _always _silent, and did not  
speak unless questioned. But somehow, she could sense that something was wrong; perhaps it was the fact that Laura had kept her face downturned all day.

Normally she'd look straight ahead, her eyes bright and observant.

"Yes." Laura's voice was terse. Clearly something was wrong; but she did not elaborate. Sofia decided to leave it be; the girl would begin to talk when she felt like it. Instead, she  
asked Laurie some questions about assignments, and received a tirade about Josh, the same old thing.

Catching him cheating had hit Laurie hard, and Sofia was worried. They weren't even a squad yet, and already the tension was unbearable. How could they work as a team under these conditions?

For that matter, how could _Julian's _squad work, she wondered? She knew that the boy despised both Laura and Jay—two out of his six-member team—and yet now he would be  
working with them in close quarters, expected to _encourage_ them, because—as he'd informed her proudly—he'd been picked to lead the squad. Sofia had smiled and congratulated  
him, all the while wondering how much more unbearable he could possibly become.

_Speak of the devil, _she thought, as she looked ahead of her and saw him approaching, with a smile just for her. Laurie stiffened; and Laura—Laura wasn't _there. _Sofia turned and  
frowned, watching the girl hurry off, her strides long and her hand pushing people out of her way.

"What's up with the clone_?_" Julian asked.

"I think you have said too much," Sofia said, a little angry. "You are chasing away my friends. I do not appreciate your rude comments."

"Hey—don't blame her PMS on _me,_" he said.

**…**

Laura skipped several classes that day, instead sneaking out to Logan's cabin to think, and to read, an activity that allowed her to forget her daily life. Reading also taught her  
about social skills; Ms. Frost had recommended the activity to her, suggesting she might find it helpful with interpreting her emotions.

She was working on _Gone with the Wind—_a rather confusing book—when the door opened, and Logan peered in.

"What you doin' in here, kid?" he asked.

"Reading." Laura lowered the book. She was sprawled out on her stomach on the single bed, pressed up against the window. "Ms. Frost suggested it as a therapeutic activity."

"And?"

"And, what?"

"How's that goin' for you?"

Laura considered this. "I'm not sure. I have yet to find a narrative to relate to. I have not encountered the emotions described in any of these novels."

Logan seemed amused. "Keep on pluggin'." He started to close the door, then paused. "Laura…why'd you skip classes today? You even skipped mine…I mean, you can miss a  
couple o' days, no problem...but…there something wrong?"

"No." Laura paused. "Yes."

"Oh." Logan frowned. "Wanna talk about it?"

Laura looked down at the book, not seeing the text. "A student…questioned my origins. I was uncomfortable…I requested to end the discussion…"

Logan raised his eyebrow. "And?"

"He demanded I tell him. I complied…and I wish I had not, but…it was a direct order and I could not refuse…" Laura stopped.

"You can always say 'no', kid," Logan said calmly. "Your story is your own. Make one up if you want, it's your call."

Laura nodded. "It is…hard…to adjust to new policies," she said, strained.

"It'll sink in at some point," Logan said. "Change is _always_ hard, but some times—lotta times—it's for the better."

"Okay," Laura said. She paused. "I miss my mother."

Logan nodded. "You always will. Do her proud."

"Okay," Laura said again.

Logan closed the door, leaving her alone with her book and her thoughts.

**…**

"Today will be your _first_ encounter with the Danger Room," Emma Frost said, unable to help smiling at the expressions of enthusiasm that spread over most of the male portion of her  
squad. Cessily, too, looked slightly excited; however, Sooraya, Jay, and Laura remained unmoved.

Laura had seen holographic training rooms before. Indeed, she'd worked in one every day for approximately nine years, at the facility, attempting to match Logan move-for-move in  
simulation after simulation, suffering punishment for every toe out of line .

"While inside the Danger Room…there will be _no_ fooling around," Ms. Frost said. "You will use codenames only—does everyone remember each other's?"

Nods.

"Excellent. You will wear the uniform provided. All loose hair will be tied back into a ponytail. You will listen to your Squad leader, and your mentor." Ms. Frost paused. "The Danger Room is  
a sentient being, as it is Shi'ar technology. You will respect it, and not speak ill of it, nor treat it in a degrading manner."

"Understood?"

A chorus of eager voices saying 'yes'.

"Good. Follow me, children."

**…**

They stood in the giant Danger Room, admiring its shining, chrome-like interior.

"You all know I'm the leader, right?" Julian demanded, as if he couldn't keep it back any longer. As if he would burst if he didn't release it; as if he was radiating with the information; to him, it  
seemed to make him the most important person in the world.

"Yeah, Julian, pretty sure I know," Cessily said. "You've only said it, like, a billion times at lunch."

"Well, have to make sure that _they_ know," Julian said, gesturing to Jay and Laura, as if they weren't there. "They tend to be out of the loop. Comes with hanging out with _losers. _So that's the  
first order of business—you can't hang around with the competition anymore," Julian said.

"!" Laura started.

"It's bad for business." Julian avoided her eyes. "Anyone who wants to hang out with Sofia…well, that's okay…I don't blame you. Just none of the other kids, okay? _You_ know the ones I mean."

"This is ridiculous!" Jay said loudly. "I want off this squad."

"Oh—_Jay_—" Sooraya, her eyes troubled.

"You guys are winners now, 'coz your on my team…and I know no big events have been run…but you just watch. They're going to lose everything, and prove me right, what I've been saying the  
whole time. They'll suck you down with them if you're their friends."

"I intend to run this squad like a business," Julian added, and suddenly Laura could see what he was doing. He was copying his father—presumably a businessman—and using his tactics,  
figuring if his parents' company won with that strategy, then his squad would, too.

_Martin sold you for a million dollars a pound. _

Laura stiffened. Another memory, disturbed.

"Alright, children," Emma Frost's voice, over the loudspeaker. "Ready to begin?"

**…**

"That was _easy,_" Julian said, grinning and wiping his forehead as they left the Danger Room, heading for the locker rooms. "We're pretty good already…like an engine."

"Definitely," Brian agreed.

The boys continued into the mens' locker room, while the girls headed for the ladies', Cessily keeping up a steady stream of conversation. Sooraya responded occasionally; Laura was quiet.

In the locker room, she received another blast from the past—the shower room was lined with large, square, _white _tiles. If she squinted, she could pretend she was in her cell.

She didn't know how she felt about this.

**…**

"Dude—check this out," Santo called.

Julian was preoccupied with washing suds from his hair. "Kinda busy here."

"You'll miss out."

"Good." He ducked his head under the spray and closed his eyes.

"On naked girls," Santo added.

Instantly, all three male members of the squad had joined him, even Jay, although he seemed to have reservations. "We shouldn't—"

"_You _shut up," Santo said.

There was a small hole in the tiles, presumably drilled by some student or another to peep at the contents of the ladies' room.

"Wait," Julian said. "That's Sooraya in there…and Cess. I'd feel like an asshat about the first…and the second is more like my sis. Besides…she's like a Barbie doll, I've seen her. We should  
come back when, like, the other squads are practicing."

"Deal," Santo said, still peering through the hole with one eye. "Kinney's hot," he added.

"Get back to washing off," Julian ordered.

A few minutes later, everyone had finished rinsing. There was a flurry of activity as the showers were turned off, towels were grabbed, and the boys headed towards the lockers for  
their casual equipment.

Julian paused, glanced at the hole. He hesitated, then he moved over to it, crouched down and peered through.

At first he thought the ladies' shower room was empty, and he began to straighten; then he saw the _girl_, off in the corner, completely wet. He felt odd—Santo was right, she _was _hot. He'd  
begun to notice this when she showed up for the school assembly in that damned outfit, exposing as much skin as she could get away with. Watching her unobserved allowed him to pay  
attention to her face; she had heavily fringed green eyes, and cushy lips, formed in a pout. Kind of…cute. Of course, his attention was focused mostly on the parts he normally _couldn't _see,  
the ones that had been distracting him during practice—the wet parts. She had nice ones. He put his hand against the wall; he'd been looking for so long his back was aching.

In reality it had been two minutes.

Then Laura looked at her hands, and the claws slid out of one set of knuckles. She turned her hand over, exposing the inner side of her wrist…and the claw tips sunk in, bringing blood welling  
up over the skin he'd been admiring, unbeknownst to her.

_Shit. _He felt something—he wasn't sure what—but he hadn't realized she was _that_ fucked up, that she needed to hurt herself. He watched her claws dig deeper and deeper into her skin, and  
suddenly he felt bad for ever picking on her, at all.

Laura rinsed the blood off—was she crying?—and then reached for the tap. And then she was walking away—allowing him to catch a glimpse of her behind, sans clothes. When he pulled  
himself away from the wall, he felt slightly dizzy.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **Thanks for all the reviews! Gives my a warm glowy feeling inside! ^.^

* * *

**-9-**

* * *

Swimming class. Laura floated with the other ten female students—even though she had metal in her hands and feet—looking up at Mr. Drake. She had to tread water more, but found it  
reasonably easy; she had a lot of experience with swimming, during her mission days.

"That's a wrap," Mr. Drake said. "Good work guys. Er, gals. You'll be doing the butterfly in no time at all."

The students began to filter out of the pool, laughing and talking. Laura's usual companions, Sofia and Laurie, were not there; she was taking this course alone, as the others had already  
completed their certificates.

She lingered in the pool, enjoying the feeling of weightlessness. She closed her eyes and floated on her back, allowing her head to deep down so the water flowed into her ears, dulling  
sounds. Drifting, she fell into a sort of trance; for about five minutes, she floated across the pool, practicing the kick she'd been shown.

There was a noise above her and her eyes snapped open in alarm and stared up at the _boy_, who was looking down at her, saying something she could not make out. Probably another  
insult; but at that moment she hit her head on the brick wall of the pool and swallowed water in surprise. She began to choke.

**…**

"Stop," Laura coughed, sitting up. The last few moments had been a blur of drowning, being pulled out of the water and having her chest pumped once in the beginning motions of CPR.

"But—"

"I have a healing fac-c-ctor." She coughed, and water gushed out of her mouth. "I will be fine."

"Oh." Julian sat back. "What the hell were you doing?"

"Swimming." Laura pulled her knees up to her chest. She was shaken; the experience had brought with it memories of water-torture—dunking—in trigger scent. Except now all she could  
taste was chlorinated water.

"Should look where you're going," he said. He sounded as if he had been frightened as well; through one ear (as the other was plugged with water), she could hear his heart only now  
beginning to slow its rhythm.

"Yes," Laura agreed. She remembered now why she _had_ been distracted—the boy himself. Still dripping water from every orifice, she lurched to her feet.

"Whoa—wait a sec, shouldn't you sit down a while? You were just _drowning—_"

"No."

Julian paused. "Look, if this is about--"

Laura halted, her back to him. She turned slightly. "I do not wish to discuss _anything _with you. Please…leave me alone."

Silence.

"I admit, I haven't been nice to you," Julian said. "Okay? There. I'm sorry. I didn't know you had a lot of shit…I wouldn't have touched it otherwise, I guess." He paused. "I got mad when  
you didn't think my powers were cool."

Laura stared at him.

"I know, you didn't say anything…you just barged in on my turf with this awesome back story about being a clone of, like, the coolest teacher here…I got a little jealous." He rubbed the  
back of his neck. "It's hard…I've had to work really, _really _hard to stand out here. I want to be an X-man more than anything." He made a face. "I don't like being ignored…I get that _a lot_ at home."

"Why are you telling me this?" Laura asked.

"I dunno." He paused. "I guess…you told me about yourself…and I got the sense you really didn't want to. So…we're even?"

Laura considered this. She understood; he meant debt. "Yes."

She turned again; she wished to be alone, to digest the experience of drowning, reawakening trigger-scent memories, and receiving an apology from her tormentor; but _he _wasn't done.

"Did they treat you well?" he blurted.

Laura considered this question. It was from earlier, regarding the facility.

_Did they treat me well? _

"No," she said; that was sufficient.

"Oh," Julian said. He shifted, seemingly uncomfortable. "That sucks."

Laura nodded, then left, and this time he didn't attempt to stop her.

**...**

"No, sit with _us,_" Julian ordered, catching Laura's shoulder as she began to carry her tray over to her friends. "We're a squad now…we eat together."

"I wish to sit with Sofia," Laura said. He himself had said this was okay.

"Get Sofia to come sit here, then," he said, grinning. "You're not sitting with all the other losers, just to be with Sofia. So.." he took her shoulder in his hand and steered her towards one  
of the empty seats at the table, across from him.

"There. There's good," he said.

Laura looked with dismay at the seat, then sat down, unwilling to argue over such a small, trivial detail. She poked her fork into her food and studied her salad. She didn't want to look at  
the boy right now, whom she was irritated with. She thought it wrong that he could dictate what she did.

Julian realized that seeing his teammate naked was a _bad_ thing, because now the image was burned on his retinas, and he saw it every time he looked at her. He couldn't look her in the  
eyes when he spoke; his eyes automatically drifted downwards. It was as if before he hadn't even been aware of her breasts, but now that he was, the two globes, showcased in a  
tank top, were all he could see.

He idly wondered what they felt like. They looked firm.

_Good way to start a team. _He hoped this awkwardness would fade, because it was going to be difficult, to issue orders to someone distracting. Issue orders regarding safety. Thinking on the spot.

There was also the fact that he kept picturing her claws sliding through the flesh of her wrists, drawing deep blood, almost black.

"Did you get your essay done?" Brian asked, probably looking for help with his. Julian was a good student; he averaged A minus to A in almost everything, as he was very  
competitive. The only people that averaged higher were people like David—with straight A-plus, or, now, apparently Laura.

"Yeah," Julian said, relieved to have something else to think about. "Need help?"

**…**

"Don't save me! _Nobody _saves me!" Julian yelled, in embarrassment, as Laura hurled herself at a mechanical object that had been about to attack him from behind.

They were fighting robots—a very simple Danger Room exercise, but challenging nonetheless to people who had no prior experience. It was quite obvious that Laura had experience,  
because she was dancing rings around them, trying to save her teammates, which often just stood in place, not knowing what to do.

She was a busy girl.

_Snkkt—_Laura retracted her claws and gazed at him coolly. The robot fell to its knees behind her. "It was about to seize your head," she said.

"Yeah, well, I was ready," Julian said. "I was going to shield myself."

"You should shield yourself at all times."

"It takes a lot of concentration," Julian said. "And _I'm _the leader here, so shut up, clone!" He snapped the last part, annoyed; Laura turned away stiffly.

Cessily sighed. "She's right, Julian—we're not doing so good."

Brian and Santo were already out of commission; and a few minutes ago, Sooraya had been cornered by a robot and had received a head-butt to her shoulder, not enough to  
break it, but enough to bruise.

"We need strategy," Laura said firmly. "There are far too many robots to continue one-on-one combat. Have you not noticed the additions?"

Julian glanced around. There _were _more than they had started with.

"Okay. Here's what we'll do…"

**…**

"That was _outstanding,_" Brian said. Santo patted Julian on the back, who looked pleased, wiping perspiration off his brow. The robots now lay disabled, sparking, on the floor,  
and were beginning to disappear, as they had completed the scenario objectives.

"Totally," Santo said. "You're the next Cyclops."

The squad headed towards the locker rooms, and Julian paused, unconsciously grimacing, as he watched Laura enter. Was she going to do it again? Hurt herself? She was silent  
as she followed the other girls in.

"Dude, what you doing?" Santo called back.

"Nothing. Thought I had a ripped strap," Julian said smoothly. He hurried in, and quickly joined the stupid banter that the boys usually engaged in while showering. He kept glancing  
at the stall, the one with the hole in the wall, but he was careful to do so while the others weren't looking.

Soon they were finished, and Santo followed Brian into the changing room, asking Julian how long he was going to spend on his hair, and that maybe he was in the wrong shower  
room. He ignored this comment, but it did strike him.

Why was he lingering? No, he was _not_ going to go look. There was no point; he wasn't interested in any of the girls there. He also wasn't sure why he kept insisting it was pointless—normally,  
he didn't care if he was interested or not.

A moment later he was crouching at the wall, peering through; to his almost-relief, the room was empty. Good. He examined it for a while to make sure, then smoothed his hair away from his  
face and headed for the changing room, both angry and pleased with himself at the same time.

**…**

Math.

He rubbed his face; he had a headache now, possibly from using his powers so much this morning. And he was constantly fighting to concentrate on what Dr. McCoy was saying; he couldn't  
wrap his mind around formulas today, for some reason. He kept thinking about the squad, and wondering if he was dreaming.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the girl beside him—Laura—crane her head, peering at her calculator (she'd bought a new one). He let his eye linger for a second too long; suddenly  
she looked straight at him.

He wasn't sure what to do. If it had been Sofia, he would have smiled at her; if it had been anyone else, he'd have made a rude gesture at them (unless they were in his social circle). He  
continued to watch her for a moment, panicking, then tore his eyes away _and looked at the floor. _When there was a teacher, making black board demonstrations, or a whole class of students  
he could have looked at instead.

Julian closed his eyes, and tried not to think about how stupid he felt. He was acting like smell-girl Laurie, whom he always picked on. He then tried to smooth it over by thinking it was  
stupid to worry over trivial details anyway.

He looked at the black board now, ignoring his table-partner completely.

**…**

Art.

Julian looked at the easel, bored, as Mr. Rasputin went into a lengthy description of how they should approach this exercise, and use their powers to express themselves. He picked  
up a paint tube and pinched the end, squirting paint into the air. "Heh," he said under his breath, as the glob landed on the plastic-covered floor. This was giving him an idea.

Smell-girl Laurie was in this class, too.

He glanced over at the girl, waiting; a moment later, she did exactly what he was hoping for—picked up a tube, and began to squeeze some onto her palette.

"AHH!" she gave a short screech as the tube suddenly squirted its entire contents over her face and smock.

Mr. Rasputin trailed off; he was careful to keep his head pointed at Laurie, as if he was checking out the disaster scene with everyone else.

"I'll get you a new one, da?" the instructor asked, finally.

Laurie looked miserable; Julian allowed himself a small snort of amusement. Just now, he'd realized how _fun_ this class could be. It was full of people he thought were pathetic. He'd have  
to space out his attacks, though, or he'd get caught.

He waited till the class was about half-way and most people had gotten fairly far into their paintings, to do his next act of sabotage; he leaned slightly to the side, and saw a canvas in  
front of his, with a hand poised over the art. A golden hand.

"HEY!" Josh yelled, as the paint reformed into something rude-looking. "What the—_Julian, stop it!" _

"Huh?" he put on an innocent face.

"…" Josh held up his easel, which now bore a very distinctive set of male genitilia. "Look what he did!"

Julian raised his eyebrows. "Why would I do that, now?"

Mr. Rasputin looked at the two children. Either Josh had done it, to falsely accuse Julian; or the latter had done it, to tease the former.

"Innocent until proven guilty, Foley," he said gravely.

"Hrumpf!" Josh slammed his painting back on his easel, angry. Julian couldn't wait to get out of class, so he could laugh his head off. And tease Foley. He looked away, fighting to control his grin,  
and his eyes caught on the girl in the opposite corner—Laura—who was painting with a very serious, sad expression; with strong, deliberate strokes.

What could she be painting? He was suddenly curious. It _had_ to be intense, to invoke such concentration—and _emotion._ Her eyes were so glued to the canvas, as if she was actually  
seeing its subject in front of her.

_Plop. _He looked down and saw that a big drop of paint had fallen off the end of his brush. It was white, too. He flushed slightly and returned to his own project.

It suddenly occurred to him that Sofia standing next to the girl, and he hadn't even noticed.

Class soon ended, and he found himself heading over to say hello. Sofia smiled and showed him her painting; a boy and a girl in a field, flying a kite. Everything was slightly distorted,  
so one could not tell who the children were.

"It's really good," he said, gazing at it. "I wish I could paint like that." He glanced over at Laura. "So what'd _you_ paint, clone?"

Laura was removing her painting from the easel. "I do not wish to share."

_Nothing_ could have made him want to see it more. He was suddenly full of curiosity. "I'll show you mine if you show me yours," he said. His was hardly a personal expression—he'd attempted  
to paint the sun in the sky, only he sucked at drawing circles.

"No," Laura said firmly.

"C'mon, show me," he demanded.

"Julian, leave her alone," Sofia said, mistaking his persistence as animosity.

He made a face. "Weird, if you ask me…painting stuff you don't want to show anyone else. You making some kind of emo thing, huh?"

Laura was silent. She picked up the cover for the painting and draped it on, as the fixative spray had now dried quite thoroughly.

"Please." Sofia laid a hand on his shoulder. "Just drop it, Julian."

He looked down at her hand. "Okay. Want to hang out after class?"

"Thank you, no," Sofia said, smiling. She picked up her brushes and put them in her kit. He felt unwanted, extra.

Laura shouldered her bag and handed her painting in to Mr. Rasputin, then left the classroom.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **Thanks to all who continue to read this story! I'd like to encourage anyone who feels like writing this pairing to do so and send me links please! I promise to be  
good and review =) There's just not that many Helix stories out there, and I loves to read em on my free time.

* * *

**  
-10-**

* * *

"Hiya," Julian said, standing beside Laura's easel.

She looked up at him, having gotten on her knees to retrieve her brushes.

"Hello," she said warily.

"You like this class?" he asked. He watched her fingers rummaging in the case, looking for particular instruments. He usually just grabbed a stick with hair on it and started  
blotting wads of paint on the canvas; she, however, seemed to take her work seriously.

Laura paused at the question. "Yes."

He let his art bag drop to the floor; Laura stiffened, but said nothing. He'd just declared, with body language, that he intended to stay.

He was trying to see her painting.

A few minutes later, Sofia entered the room, along with a crowd of other students—and the teacher—and headed straight towards the corner. Her features turned to a frown  
as she saw Julian (not the response he was used to receiving from her).

"What are you doing?" she asked.

He was holding a handful of brushes. "Setting up?" he offered, although he knew what she was asking.

"That is my spot, Julian."

"So move one over."

"I want to be beside Laura!" Sofia said, outraged.

Julian had not expected to make a scene about easels. "Uh…well I want to be here. Why don't you take the next one?"

Sofia looked at Laura. "Just this once," she said, setting down her bag. She seemed displeased.

Laura was silent, lining up her brushes on the lip of the easel.

Mr. Rasputin was handing out paintings; each student moved to the front of the class as their name was called. Julian tried to get a glimpse of Laura's as she passed, but the angle  
was wrong. When he returned with his painting, she had tilted her easel away from his view.

He felt like making a statement of exasperation to her, but Sofia was _waiting _for him to start picking on her friends, so she could request him to leave.

All he was left with was occasional glances at her expression, even harder to see now that she beside him, but somehow more powerful. He'd never seen her face really _with_ emotions  
present, before, and it made him realize she might be human.

Maybe.

_What was she painting?! _

Julian bit his tongue. He had a good spot—in addition to the close-up of Laura's expressions, Sofia had let him work beside her; and he didn't want to be forced to move. And there  
was a chance that he'd catch a peak at Laura's painting, whatever it was.

Of course, he didn't have a chance. Laura carried the painting back to the teacher with the painted side facing her body, and he stood, staring at his painting and feeling frustrated.

He was determined to see what she was making.

"That was nice," Sofia said, as she packed her instruments. She was, of course, referring to the fact that he hadn't made degrading comments about her friends, for once. She smiled at him.

He returned the smile, even though he was irritated.

**…**

By lunchtime, he realized the way to get Laura to show him her painting would be by talking to her alone, and convincing her. And he'd figured out how to do it, too.

"Uh…." he started, as she sat down at her now-usual place, across from him.

Laura focused on him.

"I kinda missed what Dr. McCoy was saying, last class," he said. "Would you mind sharing notes with me?"

"The entire lesson is in the textbook," Laura said.

Julian paused. "Yeah, but I…do better…if someone tells me. I'm one of those auditory learners."

Laura considered this. "The basis of the lesson was formulas, and rearranging them. He taught us that—"

"Not here!" Julian said. "It's too loud."

Laura raised her eyebrows. "It is not—"

"I don't have my notebook. Meet me in the library, after lunch?" he asked.

Santo was watching him suspiciously. "Dude—"

"Fine," Laura said, picking up her fork.

"Shut up, Santo," Julian said. "You have no idea what this level of math is like. _Nothing_ like the course _you're_ in."

"Bite me," Santo said. "_You_ just asked the clone on a study date."

"I did not!" Julian snapped. He glanced at Laura, but she had continued to eat. Maybe she didn't know what that meant. _Good. _It would be incredibly awkward if she did understand.

**…**

"You required my assistance?" Laura inquired, seeing the boy sitting in the corner of the library, gazing out the window. He had a few books on his lap.

She'd considered not coming, as promised; she still did not feel at ease with the boy, even though he'd somewhat relented on his attacks of her person. He made her feel on  
edge; the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. _Defend yourself _was the response he invoked.

He started and looked up at her. "Kinda," he said in greeting.

Laura brandished her notebook, and opened it, to the date in question. Her eyes ran over the page. "We covered—"

"Sit down," he said.

"It is not necessary. No new concepts were covered in the class you did not pay attention to. Dr. McCoy only covered questions similar to ones in the assignments, that were  
causing individuals problems."

"Oh." He looked—what did he look like? Irritated? Laura tilted her head and looked at him, over the edge of her notebook.

"Is there something else you wish to discuss?" she asked.

Julian was silent for a moment.

"Your painting..."

"No." Laura snapped her notebook shut. "I have told you, no. I will _not_ show you; that is my choice, and you will respect it." She had decided to follow Logan's advice, finally. It  
was a wise suggestion. The boy couldn't _order_ her to do anything; he had no authority over her.

"I'm really curious!" he burst. "You have this, like, really intense look on your face when you work on it…kind of…I don't know…like your world is ending."

There; he'd said it. Admitted that he was paying attention to what she was doing, what she looked like, beyond criticizing her.

Laura blinked at him. "It is not your concern. Do you have any more school-related questions?"

"…no," Julian said, biting back any further comments.

She turned and left, leaving him sitting in the chair, not understanding what had happened.

**…**

Late at night: he couldn't sleep. He felt entirely too restless. He crept out of bed noiselessly, so he wouldn't awake Brian (his roommate), and headed down the hall, towards the  
stairs, pausing to glance at the clock—it was 2 in the morning.

Wandering through the mansion, carefully avoiding areas he knew to be alarmed (particularly the front and back doors), he found himself migrating to the kitchen, using his powers,  
flowing through his hand, as a guiding light, not wishing to tip others off to his presence by turning on the electrical ones. The tiles were pleasantly cool against his feet; and he saw  
the fridge. He opened it carefully, carefully examining the outside first to make sure it wasn't booby-trapped with alarms.

He selected a one-gallon jug of milk, then looked around the kitchen for a glass. Failing to see one, he unscrewed the cap and drank straight, at one point over judging the tilt and  
receiving a larger mouthful than he would have liked.

Suddenly he froze, the jug still against his mouth, as he heard scuffling in the darkness behind him. He turned around, to the door—there was a girl, in the dark, the white of her tank  
top and her pale skin glowing greenish in the light from his hand. Her hair covered her face.

Quickly he put down the milk. "I wasn't—"

He peered closer and saw it was the girl, her eyes just a tiny slit. Was she awake?

"Laura?" he asked, squinting at her.

She didn't seem to have heard him; brushing past him to the sink, she then leaned over the edge, her head pointed at the tap. He could see that it was dripping slightly, having not  
been turned off properly. She was just _staring _at it.

Hesitantly, he approached her, remembering the old adage about it being dangerous to wake a sleepwalker. He reached around her shoulder and turned off the tap. It squeaked as  
he did so, and she whipped around to face him, her face livid.

"WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

Julian was silent, not knowing how to respond.

_Snkkt—_her claws were out. His eyes widened; he reached forwards and grabbed her hands at the wrists. He didn't want to touch her, but he knew it was better than allowing her to  
flail her hands, like she might start doing.

Her face crumpled. "No…please, no…"

She fought his hands for a second; he barely managed to hold on.

"Please, don't leave."

"Who are you talking to?" he asked.

"Please don't leave me…" Laura was keening now, her eyes unfocused. Tears poured down her chin, quite astonishing, since he'd seen her make, perhaps, three expressions of emotion  
in her entire four months at the institute.

"Who? Who don't you want to leave?" he demanded.

"Mother," Laura said. She took a deep breath. "Mother, I'm sorry. Don't leave."

_Oh. _"Your mother isn't here," he said. He thought, for a moment, what he should do. Leave her here? Wake her up? Just take her back to her bed? Take her to _his? _Of course he added the  
last thought; he _was_ a guy. He dismissed it quickly. "Come on. You shouldn't be here." He pulled her wrist slightly; he would take her back to her room, wake Cessily. Maybe she knew that  
Laura sleepwalked the hallways, looking for her mother.

"I'm sorry, please come back, I didn't mean it," Laura said.

Julian stopped, his eyes wide. "What did you just say?"

Laura was silent, staring into space.

"Wake up!" he said, shaking her shoulders. "_What did you just say?!" _

Her eyelashes fluttered, and she took a deep, sharp breath as she began to wake, her head wobbling on her neck. He stopped and glared at her.

"Did you kill her, Laura?" he demanded.

She focused on him slowly, her face pale, her eyes wide as saucers; then she wrenched herself free of his grip and ran into the darkness, her feet making _pat-pat _noises on the tiles.


	11. Chapter 11

**

* * *

**

-11-

* * *

Julian noted that Laura was missing for all her classes, the following day. No, more than noted; he was consciously aware that the spot beside him was empty. even though he'd never been aware before.

He didn't know what to think. Of all the children here, Laura seemed to have the darkest past, whatever it was; the only other person to kill that he knew was Kevin, who had killed his father by accident.

Had Laura's been an accident?

**…**

"Questions, kid?" Mr. Logan asked, seeing that the boy that Laura had trouble with a while ago was lingering on the side, seemingly waiting for the other students to leave.

"Yes, sir," the boy said.

"Let me finish puttin' stuff away, and we'll talk."

Logan collected the cushions used for practicing side-kicks, and stored them in the locker. He wiped his hands, then remembered the boy was waiting—it had been about five minutes.

"Kay," he said.

The boy swallowed. "I was wondering—sir—about your clone."

Logan raised his eyebrow.

"She's on my squad…" the boy seemed to be trying to explain his question. "…she goes to a lot of my classes, and, um…"

"My clone is none of your business, Keller. If she hasn't told you nothin', I sure as hell ain't goin' to."

"She won't talk to me," the boy said.

"Well, then, kinda indicates what she wants, don't it?"

"Sir—" the boy seemed to have been saving this. "Something weird happened the other night. I was—I was in the kitchen, before lights out, and Kinney came in. She was  
sleep-walking, and she said some things…"

"Oh yeah?" Logan was amused. "So, Laura was sleep-walkin' at eleven PM, huh? Funny, 'coz far as I know, sleepwalking happens about two to three hours after the  
person falls asleep…and that would have her going to bed at eight."

The boy paused. "Fine…it was two. It was still really…weird. She started talking about her mother…and then—"

"She mentioned her mother?" Logan bristled slightly.

"She said '_I'm sorry, please come back…I didn't mean it'. _Like she killed her or something." The boy paused. "Did she?"

Silence. They could hear the clock on the wall ticking.

"Kid…don't ever tell anyone what you heard, or you'll be sorry," Logan said.

"Are you threatening me?" the boy asked immediately.

"Yep," Logan said. "Laura's had a hard enough life without _you_ makin' it harder for her. Nuff said. Now get out of my face."

"Well…I wasn't _going_ to tell," the boy said, folding his arms. "I want to know…exactly who I'm sharing the school with. And…"

Logan raised his eyebrows. "You have a thing for my clone, don'cha?"

"No!" the boy said angrily. "I just want to know. That's it." He paused. "I'm her friend, and I'm worried about her."

"Awful nice of you, kid, but I ain't spilling any beans. You go ask Laura, and try being _nice…_maybe she'll tell you, maybe she won't. Maybe you'll have to spend your life minding  
your own business, and if you're lucky, you'll get to know her a bit. But that ain't gonna happen if you're talking _about_ her, and not _to _her."

Logan didn't care about what went on at the school; he barely knew the gossip concerning his own team members. However, he _did_ care about Laura—whom he knew, aside  
from her miserable history, was a good person—and, subsequently, had made an effort to become involved in her life.

Somewhat.

The boy sighed and left, looking disappointed, but Logan was absolutely confident that he'd done the right thing.

**…**

Laura made her way to class at the last minute, determined. She had disclosed nothing to the boy; there was no reason to be afraid.

She reached the door fifteen minutes late and entered, Dr. McCoy pausing in his lecture to nod his acknowledgement to her. Laura headed to the table she shared and placed her bag  
on the floor as silently as possible, retrieved her calculator and writing tools, then sat down carefully, her chin in the air and her back ramrod straight.

She was aware of the boy's glances out of the corner of her eye, but she did not respond. Let him look. She owed him nothing. She opened her notebook and picked up her pencil,  
staring straight at the teacher.

The rest of her day was similarly uneventful; she had biology, and English, and art, all of which she took with Sofia. The boy took the easel next to her friend during the latter class,  
but he was silent (except for a few comments to Sofia), and did not try to glance at her painting.

At lunch, she sat with Sofia, enjoying once again the interaction between the other students, occasionally adding a small comment to the conversation. She did not often have much  
to add, but she did enjoy listening to Sofia's stories, and David's thoughts. He still seemed to be wary of Laura, but she was used to this, and as he did not say anything, she decided  
he had accepted her presence.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: **Holy! 46 reviews! Thx so much guys, and sorry for slow updates. I just finished hellterm, I was taking 3 summer courses...and Chemistry felt like 3 classes on its own because the teacher was  
FUCKING PSYCHO. People were dropping out left right and center, and I seriously doubted whether I could pass myself. I had a friend that dropped, and another that was almost failing too, and the  
other person who always got high grades (like me) was wondering whether she could pass either. Teacher was giving us so much work, her teaching style sucked, she made mistakes, couldn't  
explain problems, tested like we had degrees on the subject...devoted 80% of exams to solving 15 problems that took about 10 minutes EACH while giving us 2 hours to do them. Most times, no  
one could even finish the exams. She also changed exams after they had been written, cancelling questions we'd already completed. She stacked our final a week away from the previous exam,  
so we were tested on three huge chapters in about 2 weeks. So yes, that's why updates were slow. This term will (hopefully) be better because it's less condensed =) although I am working more.

I'm broke now!

Re: Short last chapter:  
That was the length of the chapter, because that's all that happened in that section of the story. I partition it so each time the character shifts their outlook a bit, learns something  
new, or time passes, it is easy to tell. That chapter dealt with Julian and Logan speaking. There was nothing for me to add to it =)

Most of the remaining chapters are regular length.

(Posting that because I had a few comments about the length, both on here and on my forum. While I appreciate feedback, I have been receiving suggestions to  
edit parts of this story, which I will not be doing because the parts are vital to the plot I am telling ;-)

* * *

**-12-**

* * *

Julian hated Logan, he'd decided that much. The man had said something—one little sentence—that had burned itself in his mind, over the past week. It was completely, totally, definitely  
psychological; it had grown in his brain and demanded all the space, like a seed. It had taken root and made him paranoid.

It was about Laura, too.

He returned to his regular easel in art class, welcoming the space. By this move, he was beginning to admit to himself what he'd begun to notice that day, standing by the hole in the wall,  
deciding whether he would look or not—he was attracted to Laura. Overwhelmingly so. It had taken him quite a bit of time to acknowledge this; perhaps five months. Maybe a bit more. That  
the initial hatred he'd felt for her had slowly morphed into something entirely different. He hadn't made note of the exact day she'd arrived, but it had been mid winter, and it was now early summer.

What about Sofia? He was confused; the shift had become so gradual that he hadn't even noticed himself thinking less and less about her. He still enjoyed seeing her smile, but he wasn't living for it anymore.

He stared at his blank canvas in art class. Everyone had finished their first set of paintings, and they were going to start fresh ones, using different techniques.

Mr. Rasputin had graded the previous ones; whispers were that Laura had gotten the highest grade in class. Julian had gotten a C minus; Sofia an A. He felt vaguely stupid but decided he didn't care.

"For this assignment, we are going to use the Tole brush stroke method,"

Mr. Rasputin had told them. "This is a one-stroke method. We will be using oil paints, thinned to the correct consistency."

Julian looked at the colors, then picked green, his favorite color. Oddly enough, his powers had manifested themselves as green light. The Professor thought it might be subconscious.

It wasn't his powers he was thinking of at the moment, however.

**…**

Biology. Julian looked around; he had arrived late, and now his spot was taken; some newcomer girl was sitting beside Santo.

"Move," Julian said, irritated.

"Don't listen to him," Santo said, grinning. "Find another seat, bud, this one's taken." He patted the back of the girl's chair.

"Grr. Fine, whatever," Julian said, annoyed; but he didn't want to interrupt Santo, who had very few female opportunities. He'd interrogate him later.

Venturing a bit deeper into the classroom, he saw—_great_—that the only spot available was beside _her._

He closed his eyes, reassured himself that it wouldn't be a problem; he sat beside her in math, almost every day. Albeit they were _not_ on the topic of reproduction in that class.

"Hi," he said, putting his bag down and taking the seat beside her.

Laura looked at him warily, her hands folded on the table top. "Hello."

A few seconds of silence passed. He set himself up—notebook, pencil, his well-worn eraser—and then sat back, noticing that the others did not have their writing equipment out; they were  
murmuring and chatting freely amongst themselves.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"The instructor said we are viewing a movie today," Laura said, her tone neutral. "He said we will not have to take notes. It is so we can see how the reproductive system functions, in its entirety."

Julian stared at her, horrified. Normally, he'd be good with the idea; but this was, perhaps, the most awkward situation he could imagine at the moment, considering who he would have to sit with.

"Maybe I'll skip. I know how that shit works." He looked at his notebook.

"I do as well. But we may be tested," Laura said.

"You said we don't need to take notes."

"A visual demonstration of the systems is often better than notes," Laura said.

Julian blew out air. He couldn't even push his chair away; he was now stuck beside her, and…the teacher had just entered the room, holding the dreaded video cassette in his hand, and grinning.

"Okay, guys. I know this is a tough subject…but really, you're all nearly adults here…and I'm sure you can act accordingly."

Julian looked at the desk. _It can't be _that _bad, _he promised himself.

It was, quite so. The video wasn't very graphic, merely educational; but it brought to attention every subject he was trying to suppress in his mind. He saw, again, _her_ in the shower, and wished  
he could move his chair. He could feel her body heat against his side, and it was very distracting.

"Can you see okay in the back row with the lights?" The teacher asked, in concern.

"No," someone said loudly. A fluorescent beam was glaring down on the students in the back.

The instructor reached for the lights—Julian wanted to jump up and yell for him not to—but it was too late. The room was doused in semi-darkness, the illuminated screen taking the center point of  
focus. And his senses. His awareness of the heat against his side increased to an unbearable point; and now, in the silent moments, his hearing enhanced by the loss of sight, he was more aware of her breathing.

Julian leaned forwards, on his elbows, and cupped his chin in his hands, staring up at the screen and doing his best to ignore everything.

**…**

He found his distraction spread to practice; he got hit more than once by a robot, as he'd been glancing at the girl, watching her perform a split to efficiently decapitate two metallic  
adversaries at once with her foot claws.

In retaliation, he yelled at his team, criticizing the mistakes they'd made. He was in a bad mood. He left the Danger Room first, and headed for the showers, eager to relax under the  
spray. When Santo and Brian entered, they were quiet; the former whispered something to the latter, and Julian bristled.

"_What _did you say?" he asked nastily.

"I said, you've got a bit of sand in your vagina today," Santo said loudly, never one to hide what he was thinking. "You're being such a whiny little _bitch._"

"Hrumpf." Julian ducked his head under the water. "I wouldn't whine if people _did_ what they were _supposed _to do." He had been furious at Santo for disobeying his orders and going after the wrong robots.

"Maybe that's what I _was_ supposed to do," Santo grunted. "It's just a bunch of dumb robots. They all look alike to me."

Julian sighed. "Fine. Don't do it again."

Santo grinned. "You _know _that just makes me want to do it more." A pause.

"Speaking of that…who has?"

"Done what?" Julian asked, reaching for his shampoo.

"He means girls," Brian said, eyeing Santo. "He just wants to _brag_ some more."

"_What?!" _Julian asked, almost dropping the bottle in surprise. First came shock that Santo had beat him to it. Second came hurt that he hadn't told _him_ first.

"How does that even work, anyways?" Julian asked meanly.

"Dude, you were _in_ the bio class for the video. I saw you. What, do you need like diagrams or somethin'?" Santo grinned. "Insert tab A into slot B?"

"Shut up! You know what I meant."

"She's made of rubber," Brian said. "Weird girl, if you ask me. Very much not someone you would like, Julian."

"Hey, she's not that bad," Santo said defensively.

Julian stared at his shampoo bottle for a second, then forced himself to continue acting as if nothing that upsetting had happened.

This time, however, he didn't hesitate; as soon as the boys had disappeared into the changing room, he was up against the wall, peering through the hole. The three girls were still  
there, but Cessily had reached down and turned off her tap, signifying that they were almost done.

He watched them leave, running his eyes over the _girl _and trying to memorize her figure, when suddenly she paused and turned around. He held his breath as she walked  
closer; he hadn't had such a good view before.

And then…_a green eye was looking back at him. _

A familiar green eye; something that (although he did not want to admit it), was taking shape on the canvas of his art class painting.

He stared back, wondering if there was really anything appropriate he could say at this particular moment in space and time. Probably not. He couldn't even tell if she was shocked, or  
outraged—or furious beyond measure.

Was there a possibility she did not know who he was? Very little. He was the only boy with blue eyes on the team. He finally backed away and headed for the lockers, sweating and wondering  
what was going to happen to him. She'd tell, for sure, and he'd be in a heap of trouble. No one would believe that he hadn't _made_ the hole; and it wouldn't really matter anyways.

His goose was cooked.

**…**

Julian decided the only thing he could do was talk to her about it; beg her not to tell on him. So later that day, he found himself before the door of the room Cessily and Laura shared,  
knocking, and trying to compose his thoughts.

Cessily answered. "Oh, HI!" she said, seeming surprised. "What brings you here?"

Laura hadn't told her then; Cessily would be _furious _if she knew he'd been spying on them.

"Nothing. Uh, is Laura there?"

Cessily raised her eyebrows. "You're _talking? _Really? Has hell frozen over?"

"Kind of," Julian said, responding to all the questions at once.

"Hang on. She's in her PJs…she might want to get decent."

_If she only knew,_ Julian thought uncomfortably. "Okay."

Moments later, Laura was at the door, her expression unintelligible. "Yes?"

"We need to talk."

"I have nothing to discuss with you."

"I do. Please," Julian said, trying to keep his voice down so Cessily wouldn't hear.

"Then speak," Laura said.

"Not here. Can you…come out?"

"I am not dressed."

Was that a shot at him? He decided it wasn't. "Get dressed, then…I'll wait. I really need to talk to you."

Laura considered. "Fine."

**…  
**

They were standing in the garden, Laura now somewhat dressed in pants and a half-closed jacket; she holding her elbows, him with his hands in his pockets, wondering how he would start off such a conversation.

It was a hot night, and the garden was in full bloom; occasionally a white butterfly passed by, in the darkness, and there was the faint hum of bees.

"Nice weather," Julian said.

"Yes."

Silence. Somewhere, off in the distance, a cricket chirped. Julian wanted to find and kill it. He folded his arms, shifting uncomfortably. "So…I guess you're kind of wondering why I was spying on you," he said lamely.

Laura said nothing.

"Well…I…uh, think you're hot," he said. There. It was out. He thought he felt the night pulse in stunned reaction. After all that teasing, after all the mean things he'd said to her…he'd just admitted  
something that would boost any girl's ego.

"Yes, I am," Laura said, puzzled. "You asked me out here to inform me of what I already know?"

"Um…yes," Julian said. This was _not_ the reaction he'd been expecting. She seemed to have a bigger ego than _he_ did.

"You are wasting my time," Laura said angrily. She paused. "Perhaps you should seek medical attention, if you cannot _tell_ it is hot. You may have a neurological condition that is affecting your thermoreceptive  
neurons. I would advise you not allow this to continue, as you could have an accident and be unable to feel the damage."

Julian was so stunned, he let her continue her train of thought.

"Goodnight." Laura turned and began to walk away, back to the school swiftly; he snapped out of his reverie and ran after her, catching her by the shoulder.

"That's totally not what I meant," he said.

Laura looked at him with narrowed eyes, suspicious. He had already proven he was going to waste her time, with mean jokes. She—

Lips. Julian had leaned forward and touched her lips with his, just lightly, uncertain of what he was doing, but thinking it was probably a good way to get his message across. He felt her skin, slightly  
sticky with perspiration, under his palm. Felt her stiffen. Sort of a twitch, of surprise.

Laura pulled back, her eyes wide, like when she'd awoken from sleepwalking; she stumbled backwards, pressing her hand over her mouth. She made him think of a deer he'd just shot.

She turned and ran, and he stayed, wondering if he'd made things all better or if he'd just gotten himself expelled. Probably the latter. Her running wasn't really a good reaction.

He still couldn't help feeling slightly exhilarated. The cricket chirped again in the distance, but he no longer hated it.

**…  
**

Laura sat in Logan's cabin, on the bed, a pile of unread books beside her, uneaten food on the pillow. She was going to stay for a while; she needed to think. The latest misadventure  
with the boy was quite alarming; as not only had he declared a change in his attitude towards her, but she had been overwhelmed by entirely new feelings, sensations.

She wasn't sure if she _liked _it. In her mind, the scene kept replaying; the sudden moment of focus, when her whole body had seemed to consist only of the areas being touched. When  
she had suddenly been able to sense exactly what _he_ was concentrating on, too. It disturbed her to be in synch with another creature like herself; she was used to being singular.

Staring at her hands, she thought back to the moment she'd sensed his gaze on her, in the shower. It hadn't disturbed her then; she was used to being watched by men in the  
shower. Rice used to literally hose her down with cool water.

But now, thinking back to it, it _did_ disturb her, somehow. Applying this newer sensation to the old situation. He'd probably been examining her, and wanting to touch her, like her  
clients, when she had been a streetwalker. She _knew_ what men wanted—she wasn't unused to kissing, and touching.

However, something had been different about the boy's advances. What was it? Perhaps it was that _he_ didn't know what he wanted. Innocence. Maybe it was that he'd been putting  
more into his touch than the men previous, who had wanted only her body, in exchange for money. Laura was used to selling herself by the pound, but not comfortable with the idea  
of _exchanging _herself in such a fashion, receiving something in return.

It disturbed her immensely.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: **Here's the next chapter. Enjoy and as always thx for reviews =)

* * *

**-13-**

* * *

Neither showed for math class the day following the interaction, too embarrassed and self-conscious, but finally at lunch they crossed paths again, in the line  
up. They avoided each others' gaze. After being served, Laura, hefting her tray, headed for Sofia's table.

"…dance?" She focused on Laurie's voice, about ten feet away. A shy, mousy sound.

"Really?" Sofia asked, looking excited.

"It sounds stupid," Josh said.

"Do _you_ want to go with me, Kevin?" Laurie asked.

Silence at the table. "…yes," Kevin said, as if in disbelief that she'd asked.

Laura set down her tray at the end.

"Laura, did you hear? There is going to be a dance, for the end-of-term," Sofia said. "We get to dress up and have fun!"

She said nothing as she sat down, but smiled slightly at the girl's enthusiasm. Even though she didn't know what a dance was, at least in that context. Why would people dress up to dance?

"Dress up as what?" she asked, after a moment.

"HAH!" Josh said, amused. "That's hilarious."

Laura smiled reluctantly, not understanding the joke.

"In nice clothes," Sofia said. "I'll help you pick yours out, Laura."

"I hate finding dates," Josh grumbled.

"Ask Ms. Sinclaire," Laurie shot. "Oh, sorry, should I be saying _Rahne? _Or are you calling her something totally different now?"

"Laurie…" David grimaced.

"Please, let us stay positive," Sofia said.

"Whatever." Laurie rolled her eyes and tossed her hair to the side.

**…**

'The dance' was all Laura heard, from that point on. She consistently walked in on people asking each other out; after complaining, once, quietly to Sofia, she suddenly became  
the 'hub'. Everyone came to _her_ to ask—in tentative voices—if she knew whether their intended had been 'asked' or not.

Laura kept track of the names, reluctantly, believing it to now be her responsibility (although she didn't even _know_ what the dance was about); she knew that the confirmed  
couples were Laurie and Kevin, Santo and Andrea, Cessily and Mark. Several people were 'going' alone. Josh approached her, when she was alone in the hallway, and asked  
who she was 'going' with.

"No one," Laura said, understanding he meant the 'dance'.

"Oh—want to go with me, then?" he asked.

"Thank you, no," Laura said, the response she'd heard given. Josh hadn't looked disappointed; he'd made a joke that Laura didn't understand (_waiting for the jerk, huh?) _and left. David  
had tried next, even though he favored Nori. Laura had declined this, too, not understanding _why_ everyone wanted a 'partner'.

And, if so, why they were asking the wrong people. Laura knew, by chemical scent response, whom desired whom in the school. Half the 'matches' for this 'dance' were not correct.

Sofia insisted on taking her shopping (she'd been horrified when, in response to 'what are you wearing for the dance', Laura had described her jeans and tank top), to a fancy store with  
stiff silk dresses full of dangerous ruffles. Laura shuddered, imagining being caught in a combat situation while wearing one.

"Do you like this one?" Sofia asked, coming out of a changing room in a revealing black dress.

Laura tilted her head. "Yes," she said simply.

"So do I." Sofia smoothed her dress down in the mirror, examining her figure. "Have you seen anything that you like yet, Laura? I will purchase it for you."

"No." Laura did not desire one of these death-traps, but Sofia insisted; after changing back into her normal clothes, she took her friend through the store, heaping dress after dress on her  
arms and forcing her to try them on. Laura struggled with the zippers and pushed her breasts in place, finding it hard to breathe in the tight confines of the outfits.

Sofia handed a dark green one to her, with black edges. Laura felt more comfortable in this outfit; the fabric was stretchy, allowing her to breathe, and the length of the skirt was short,  
allowing her leg mobility. Sofia told her it looked 'stunning' on her and 'showed off her figure'; Laura had no idea what she meant; she only smiled in response and made note of how much Sofia paid.

She did not wish to be a '_charity case'. _

**…**

"Laura—wait up!" the boy called, chasing her down the hall, into the girls' dorms.

She wondered what he could want; they hadn't spoken since that night, two weeks ago, in the garden. Now, suddenly, he had something to say, very urgently, or so it appeared.

"Did somebody ask you?" he panted, after reaching her. He'd chased her for a very long time.

"Ask me what?" Laura responded.

"To the dance."

"Yes."

"Oh." Julian looked disappointed. "Who asked you?"

"Joshua Foley, David Alleyne, Dallas Gibson, and Max Jordon," Laura said. "Mark Sheppard as well. He is now 'going' with Cessily. Is there anyone else you would like to know the status of?"

Julian seemed amused. "So I take it you didn't say yes to any of them?"

"No," Laura said.

"Were you waiting for me?" he asked, somewhat shyly.

"No," Laura said again, honestly.

"Oh." He seemed disappointed. "Well…do you want to go? With me?"

Laura paused, unsure. She had been about to say no.

"What _is_ this?" she asked. "What is a 'dance'?"

"It's just a bunch of people, dressing up and hanging out. There'll be music…and usually like food and drinks and stuff." He grinned at her. "It also means you'll be seen with whoever you go  
with…if you get someone really popular, it makes _you _popular, too. Kinda." He paused, feeling lame.

Laura felt he was trying to sell her something, and wrinkled her nose slightly.

They watched each other for a moment.

"So…." he folded his arms. "Yes or no, Kinney? I haven't got all day."

"All right," Laura said, surprising both of them. He hesitated, then reached for her and kissed her again, this time placing his hands on her hips (albeit rather awkwardly). Laura found it different  
to be the one involved in the kissing, rather than the fly on the wall. She let him take his time, having thought about such interactions for a while, and become more curious, as the school  
seemed to hum with such energies at the moment.

She thought back to Logan's comments of earlier—'_animals get twitterpainted, and humans are no different_.' Was this what he'd been speaking of?

**…**

"Laura, I have heard that Julian is going with someone else," Sofia said, in a worried voice. "Do you know _who?_"

At lunch.

"Yes," Laura said. "I am 'going' with him."

Sofia looked taken back. "Oh!" Then relieved; she smiled. "I will not worry then. I am sure you will take good care of him for me, right?"

"Yes," Laura said. She hadn't even considered her friend's attraction to the boy when she'd accepted the request; she hadn't really been thinking beyond the two of them. It was odd, how sealed  
off from the world touching him had made her feel.

She paused on her spoonful of cereal, and wondered how this information was connected to Julian and herself. Was something required of her? She felt that there was, but she couldn't quite  
put her finger on it.

"Hey! You said you weren't _going_ with anyone!" Josh said, disgruntled.

"She said the same thing to me," David said.

"Boys, do not fight," Sofia said, but she gave Laura a questioning look.

As she had not asked a question out loud, Laura ignored this and continued to eat her salad, deciding it would be best to say nothing, and wondering what this Saturday, the night of the  
dance—and the end of the term—would hold.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: **Last chapter of 'save your breath'. Thanks for reading and glad you liked it.

~ onelildustbunni

...oh yeah and the sequel's first chapter is up: _**saveyourbreath II: i know what you did last summer**_ =)

* * *

**-14-**

* * *

"You have a dress?" Cessily asked, worried. "You need help with your hair?"

Laura sat in front of the mirror, still dressed in her regular clothing. "Yes," she said, staring at herself.

Cessily pursed her lips. "You _have_ to do something with your hair. It's in, like, half an hour, ohmigod! Look, let me help you."

Half an hour later, Laura had been stuffed into her dress, with a bra device that severely pushed up her bust so her breasts sat beneath her face, white and distracting (even to herself);  
she had a necklace on, with a large oval green gem, that sat between the constricted globes; and her hair had been piled and clipped to the top of her head, curled elaborately in places.  
Cessily fussed over her face, applying various liquids and combing random areas of her body hair, occasionally clipping; she dabbed behind her ears with perfume, her metal fingers  
cool to the touch.

"Too bad you can't wear earrings," Cessily said. A matching pair sat on the counter, that had come with the necklace.

"I can." Laura picked up one, held it to her ear, then pushed it straight through her skin, barely even wincing as blood trickled down from the wound.

"Ohmigod!" Cessily said, disturbed.

"It will heal. Please, pass me a cotton swab."

Laura pushed in the other earring, dabbed at the wounds for a while, and then there was a knock at the door. Cessily ran to get it, desperately adjusting her dress (which had slipped down,  
being strapless, and having no friction to really cling to her metallic body).

"Oh," she said, looking out the open door in confusion. "Julian? What are you—_OH! _Ohmigod, what about—"

"Shut up, Cess. Is she ready?"

Cessily glanced at Laura, who was still seated on the stool, soaking up the blood with the cotton ball. "Sort of. She had a little accident."

Julian peered around the door. "What the—"

Laura gave a final dab at her ear. "It has stopped. I am ready." She got off the stool, rather awkwardly (the seat being caught in her dress), then righted herself, pulled at her underwear, and headed towards him.

"Huh," he said. "You look—"

"She's _ravishing,_" Cessily snapped, a strand of hair escaping from its bun. "I slaved over her for half an hour, and leant her all sorts of shit, so if _anyone _has the balls to think she's anything less, you send them over."

"Wow, okay," Julian said, looking nervous. Cessily could randomly fluctuate from sweet and good-natured to the alpha bitch.

"Uh, I brought you—" he started to hold up the corsage; Cessily snatched it and eyed it critically. "Oh my god, that's totally going to clash with her outfit," she hissed.

"…" Julian glared at her and took the flowers back, then handed Laura the small floral arrangement. The girl took it, examining it curiously. "What is it?" she asked after a moment.

"You wear it—" Julian started.

"Here," Cessily said, taking the corsage and one of Laura's hands. She slid it around her wrist and positioned it critically. "Huh, I guess it looks okay."

"Come on," Julian said, taking her other hand and pulling. Laura stumbled forward, unused to the heels Cessily had equipped her with; she barely caught herself from falling.

"I think I will wear my own footwear, thank you," she said.

"But—you can't—" Cessily said, horrified.

Julian let her hand slip out of his; he heard _zipping _sounds from the room, and a moment later Laura reappeared, clad in knee-high platform boots, with buckles and metal plating all over—and  
laces. He realized he'd seen them before, but never in their full glory.

"Yeah…she's wearing those," he said firmly, after letting out a deep breath.

"Let's get out of here," he said, holding out his hand again, just as Cessily's date came down the hallway, his eyes riveting to Laura (who was now Julian's height).

"Holy—" Mark said.

"Hello to you too," Cessily said, gritting her teeth.

**…**

Laura followed the boy outside, noting that he, too, was 'dressed up', in a suit and tie, with his hair more brushed up than usual. She caught a scent on his presence—cologne—and cataloged it,  
after a moment. _La Coste, Essentials. _She'd retrieved comprehensive training on scent recognition, and knew almost every cologne and perfume on the market.

"Let's hang out here a bit," he said, pausing at the front steps. "And be late. It's always cooler when you're late." He grinned at her.

"Tardiness is a result of poor planning and execution," Laura argued. "I do not wish to make a poor impression."

"Trust me…we'll make a good impression this way." He scuffed his shoe on the ground, then sat down on the top stair. "You look pretty," he said, without looking at her. "I mean—uh—you always do—but right now—"

Laura tucked hair behind her ear. The pins pinched her head, but as the mission was to 'dress up', she did not mind it too much.

"Thank you," she said, supposing that was appropriate. She considered for a moment. "You look…pretty, as well."

Julian grinned up at her. "That's totally the wrong word. You mean hot…I hope. Right?"

"Alright," Laura said, not sounding convinced.

"Dude! You're taking _the clone?!" _Santo's voice. Julian looked in front of him, startled; his friend was there, dressed in a large suit, a small, blond-haired girl on his arm, her hair in curls.

"Kinda," Julian said. He reached out and touched Laura's calf. "Sit down."

She complied, and he pulled her against his side; her boots were heavy and resisted the change in direction, leaving her sitting at an angle. He left his arm around her shoulder, somewhat possessively.

It was somehow easier for him to make affectionate gestures in public, she noted. His body language was more relaxed than when it had just been _them._

"I thought you hated her," Santo persisted. "She _does_ look good. Ow!" He'd been elbowed in his side by the girl, who pouted.

"This is Andrea," Santo said.

"I see," Julian said. "This is _Laura, _not the clone."

"What about Sofia?" Santo asked.

Julian paused. "I didn't ask her," he said lightly.

"I see." Santo raised his eyebrow. "This have to do with the hole in the—"

"Shut up." Julian flushed.

Laura raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

After about ten more minutes of small talk, between Julian and Santo (and occasionally Andrea), the group headed back into the institute, towards the Ballroom, now, as Julian assured her, 'fashionably late'.

**…**

Eyes. Dozens of eyes, and a lot of noise. Music.

Laura was instantly aware of the eyes turning to her, gluing themselves on her person, then Julian's, processing them separately, then together, with interest. He slipped his hand onto her lower back and  
guided her deeper into the room, nodding at people he knew, aware of the fact that at least three quarters of the guys in this room were wishing they were _him_, right now.

Laura had really been a diamond in the rough.

He moved her past the dancing area to the drinks table. "Want something?"

Laura eyed the selection. "Yes," she said.

"A punch?"

Laura drew her eyebrows together. "I do not _wish_ to be harmed."

"No," he said, sounding amused. "It's a drink. Here." He remained in place, rubbing her lower back, as two cups dipped themselves in the fluid and then soared to their fingertips. Laura caught hers and  
peered at it uncertainly as it dripped on the floor.

"It's fine," he said. "It's good."

Tentatively she sipped it, her lipstick smudging the edge of the cup slightly. She found it to be artificial, but sweet.

She felt something cold land on her exposed upper flesh.

"Oops," Julian said. She looked down; a large, orange drop of fluid had landed on her left breast, and was trickling down towards her dress. He stared at it for a moment, debating, then leaned in suddenly  
and licked it off. It was an action done entirely for show, as he was nowhere nearly that comfortable with Laura yet.

She watched him as he straightened, her eyebrow raised and his face slightly flushed. She'd been touched many times by clients in that area.

"Couldn't let your dress get dirty," he pointed out.

"A napkin would have sufficed," she said.

"Probably. Hey, there's Brian…with that weird girl, Alan or something." He pulled her in that direction, his arm still around her waist. As if he was showing off the fact that she allowed him to touch her.

**…**

Several more greetings and another cup of punch, and Julian dragged her onto the dance floor, insisting that they 'had to' and to 'just (do) what (he) did'. Laura complied, but found it awkward, until Julian  
amended his earlier instructions and introduced the concept that he was going to lead, and that she should step back whenever he stepped forwards.

He had come to this conclusion when she stepped on his toes, and he'd discovered that her boots had steel soles.

They had gotten quite into it; Laura enjoyed the rhythm, as it was somewhat like karate. Julian threw in a few variances, guiding her to twirl when he did a certain motion, something that she did surprisingly  
well despite her heavy boots. When the music slowed he pulled her against his chest and rested his chin in her hair, whispering for her to copy him. All went well for a while; after growing accustomed to the  
change, Laura found she liked listening to his heart beat as it slowed from the earlier exercise, accompanied by his steady breathing. It made her slightly sleepy.

Then the music ended, and there was a dancing break as the chaperons began to change the discs; Laura found her earring was now stuck to his tie, and they had to back themselves into the corner as  
they struggled to separate the two attachments. Finally Laura managed to unhook herself, and they smiled at each other, flushed. They might be from different backgrounds, but the situation had been  
equally embarrassing for both.

He guided her to the drinks table again, and Laura paused, sniffing the air.

"Someone has added alcohol," she said.

"Really? _Awesome!" _he said, quickly dipping two cups in. Laura hesitated, then copied him as he drank very quickly.

Three cups and several minutes later, Julian set his drink down, pulled her closer, and ran his hand up and down her bare back. He kissed her slowly, closing his eyes, and Laura sensed he was no longer  
concentrating on the people _watching _them.

"…Laura?"

Sofia, behind her. Laura pulled away and looked over Julian's shoulder, to see her friend standing with a distraught expression.

Laura was confused. "What…" she arched her fingers against his chest.

"How _could _you?!" Sofia asked. "You _know_ I like him! How…I even got you that dress…that is…" she covered her mouth and turned away, then disappeared, into the crowd of people. Laura glared  
at Julian angrily, pushing him away.

"You—"

"I didn't see her," Julian said. "I didn't know she'd be _angry._"

Laura inhaled; he was telling the truth.

"Fine. I must find her."

"I'm coming," he said.

"No, you will anger her further." Laura hurried through the people; Julian followed, catching her wrist.

"I think I should explain." He grimaced. "I, uh, forgot she'd be here."

"You _forgot?_" Laura asked. They had been crossing the dance floor, and now she'd stopped in the middle.

"Kinda," he said, rubbing his neck.

"_LAURIE!" _

There was a commotion besides them as Laurie pulled away from David, her eyes fixed on Josh, in the corner. It had been Kevin who had called out. The dancers, around them, had stopped to watch;  
Cessily was watching Kevin, her date, Mark, was watching Laura, and Noriko Ashida was watching David, her arms folded.

"…" Julian watched all this with raised eyebrows. It was like a love triangle, except it had more points. _A non…nona…nonago…big pointy thing, _he thought slowly, and he suddenly wondered if he was drunk.

"This is ridiculous," Laura mumbled, a rare opinionated comment, as she pulled him towards the exit.

**…**

"Go away," Sofia said, through the door.

"No. I have brought Julian. He is going to explain," Laura said firmly. "Open the door, or I will sever the lock."

Silence. Laura popped her claw and slid it into the device, not one to allow something so small to be an obstacle.

"STOP!" Sofia said, opening the door. She looked very upset; her make up had run slightly, and her hair was spilling out of its coif.

"Here. Julian, explain," Laura ordered, shoving the boy in front of her by his shoulders.

He wobbled.

Julian, now drunk, focused on Sofia with difficulty. "…she was hot…and…uh, hi, when did you get here?"

_SLAP! _ Sofia's hand left an imprint on his cheek, she withdrew into her room, her teeth gritted. "Leave. Me. ALONE!"

Laura held Julian's shoulder as he rubbed his stinging face. "Ow…" he said feebly.

"Sofia…he is intoxicated. Something was added to the beverages."

Silence.

"When he was reasonably coherent, he said he did not know you would be present, and that he did not know you would be angry."

"THAT DOES NOT MAKE IT BETTER!" Sofia shouted, her voice hoarse.

"I did not know it would make you angry, either," Laura said calmly.

Sofia lunged out the door. "Of COURSE I am angry! My best friend has…I do not know how to say this in English! There are no words! AGH!" She whirled away from Laura, holding herself; a tiny tornado whipped  
down the hallway and broke a small Ming vase on a decorative table.

"I did not know," Laura repeated. "It was a misunderstanding. It will not happen again. Here, he is yours." She pushed Julian towards Sofia again; he looked overwhelmed. "_Hey! _You can't just pass me off!"

"Be quiet!" Sofia said. "How can you not _know?! _I told you! I cannot believe you could _do _this! You…"

"I did not know," Laura said again. "I am sorry. I will leave now."

"It is too late to be _sorry!" _Sofia said, her voice exasperated.

"I will leave now," Laura repeated, turning away.

"I want my dress back! You are not my friend!" Sofia snapped.

Laura paused, then reached behind herself—_zipp—_and the dress slid to the floor. She stepped out of it and tossed it to the astonished Sofia.

"Thank you for lending it to me," she said.

_SLAM! _The door to Sofia's room closed so violently that the picture on the wall fell off, and Julian stumbled a few feet in surprise. "That is one angry…bitch," he said, then he squinted at Laura. "Hey, where'd your dress go?"

Laura was now clad in her underwear, bra, and boots. "Sofia wished to have it back. I have returned it to her. She did not seem to want you, however."

"Rub it in, will you," Julian said. He had a thought, then shrugged off his jacket and draped it around Laura's shoulders. "Here…you need it more than I do. I think. Well, yeah, you're almost naked, and I—"

"Come."

**…**

"Aw, fuck." Julian stared at his door, which had a tie around the handle. "I don't understand, how someone can get _lucky _at a _chaperoned party_…"

"Are you not going to enter?" Laura asked, impatiently.

"Can't," Julian said, miserably. "He's in bed with—"

There was a groaning noise, audible to both.

"It'd be wayyyy too awkward," he slurred.

Laura made an impatient noise, then headed up the hall. "I thought the rules were for no members of the opposite sex past curfew, in either dormitory," she said stiffly.

"Yeah…but…happens anyway. I don't feel so good," Julian groaned and leaned against the wall for a moment.

"You only had three drinks," Laura said.

"Eight…" Julian grinned half-heartedly. "You went to the bathroom…'member?"

Laura sighed and pulled him along; she knew what was coming.

Thankfully, Cessily was not present; and Laura was able to open the door to their room and sneak Julian in without being disturbed.

"…here," he said, picking up a scrunchy off the table.

"What for?" Laura asked, confused.

"On the…the knob. I'm going to…going to _do you_ real hard…once I…" he swallowed. "You got a washroom in here?"

Laura pointed; he almost ran towards it, slammed the door, and turned on the fan. There were loud retching noises, followed by a _**thunk! **_

She sighed, popped the hair tie on the doorknob and closed it, then headed towards the bathroom. Julian was unconscious on the floor, his eyebrows drawn together. She took a washcloth,  
wetted it, and wiped some fluid off his mouth and chin. Throwing the rag into the tub, she then hooked her arms under his, half-carried him over to her bed and dropped him on it.

Julian automatically curled into a ball and began to suck his thumb.

Laura watched him for a while, then worked the covers out from under him and tucked them around his form. She sat down in the chair, at the desk; but after a while she grew sleepy, and she noted  
that he had straightened in his sleep; she crawled in beside him and was out like a light.

**…**

She awoke to a squeal, and her eyes snapped open to see Cessily, still dressed in last's nights clothes. "OHMIGOD!" she said. "HOLY! I didn't see you guys! WOW!"

Julian's eyes popped open as well, and he took a second to realize he was in a _pink _bed. "Ahhh! No, shit! Calm down! Nothing happened, Cess!" He sat up; he was still wearing last night's dress shirt,  
although the tie was hanging on the end of Laura's bed, and a few of the top buttons were open.

"Oh." Cessily peered at them. "Wow, your makeup still looks great, Laura. Yay me! I should do it professionally."

"And where were _you_ all night?" Julian shot.

"With Kevin." Cessily grinned.

"I see," he said. "From what I remember…I was with Sofia…and Laura…getting screamed at. And slapped."

"I thought your face looked darker in one spot," Cessily said. "We can fix that right up though!"

Julian yawned. "No make-up for me, thanks. I can take my beatings like a man."

"Whatever," Cessily said. She paused. "So you _reaaally _didn't…"

"No," Julian said, in answer to whatever question she was asking.

Laura sat up, the blanket dropping and revealing the fact that she was clad in her underwear only.

Cessily raised her eyebrows. "Second base, at least," she said.

"Sofia wanted her dress back," Laura said seriously.

"…Oh," Cessily said. "Wow, guess she was pissed, huh?"

"Kinda." Julian slid his hand down Laura's hip, covered by the blanket.

"Well…I'm gonna have a looong shower…then crash like there's no tomorrow…" Cessily grinned. "And there really _isn't!_ No school, woo!"

"Oh yeah," Julian said. He rubbed her hip slowly, his thumb circling the skin, as he considered how he felt about waking up with her. Not too bad.

Cessily remained in the room a few moments longer, to grab her clothes—and a small radio—then headed into the bathroom and closed the door behind herself, locking it.

Julian raised his eyebrows. "Cess is taking a radio into the shower when she's made of metal?"

"I do not know," Laura said. "I have never seen her take it in before. She usually takes baths."

"Oh." Julian rubbed her hip slowly, wondering if Cessily had been trying to give them a hint. The radio went on, quite loud, on a station Julian _knew_ she hated; then the shower started. It _had _to be a hint.

He fished in his pockets for his wallet; Laura raised her eyebrows. "What are you doing?"

"Looking for…oh." He spotted the object on the table; it flipped open, and a silver packet shot to his hand. "Want to?" he asked, a little hesitantly.

Laura blinked, examined the object. "Oh. Yes, okay."

_Just like that. _He stared at her, taken back; he didn't _know_ how experienced she was, and would never need to. Laura took the packet from his fingers and set it on the pillow, then turned around and  
began to take off his shirt quite deftly while he lay, stunned, unable to believe that she'd so casually accepted his approach. After he'd spent a good deal of time wondering how to convince her.

He didn't have much experience with these matters. Well, any, to be honest.

She was on top of him now, and only in her underwear. With wide eyes he reached up and grabbed her breasts (a little too quickly, as if they were magnets and his hands were made of metal). He struggled  
with the clasp in the back—after a moment, she reached behind herself and undid the hook for him.

"Laura…are you _sure_? I mean, once I see them…I can't stop myself," he said, catching her wrists. He was in earnest.

Laura smiled and the bra straps rolled down her shoulders, revealing her front, which for about three months he'd only seen through a tiny hole in the wall.

**…**

Cessily was now lying in her bed, asleep; she'd returned to the room to find the couple dozing, seemingly in the same position, but she saw Laura's bra peeking out from under the bed, and grinned to herself.

Now they were whispering to each other.

"…what are your summer plans?" Julian asked.

Laura was silent for a while. "Do we not stay here?"

"No," Julian whispered. "Only the losers stay."

"I will travel, then, and seek employment," Laura whispered back.

Julian paused. "Come to my place?"

"What?"

"I have a big, awesome place in California…with a pool…and all sorts of cool stuff…I invited the rest of the squad…do _you_ want to come?"

Laura paused. "I am uncertain."

"You _know _you wanna," he whispered. "It'll be awesome. I can…uh…well, do you want to meet my parents?" he asked.

"…okay," Laura murmured, not really sure why he had asked.

"Since I, uh, already know Mr. Logan…" Julian whispered, squeezing her waist. "So…you'll come then?"

"Alright," Laura whispered tentatively.

What could go wrong?


End file.
